Sleep, Don't Weep
by Phoenix Bradley
Summary: A ZukoJin fic.
1. Chapter 1

Sleep, Don't Weep  
by, Smeagol's girl

(A/N: A Zuko/Jin fic. No summary, just read if you want to know what happens. Rated T for violence, character deaths, and angst. I own nothing. Takes place the day after Zuko's sickness and gives him a few weeks before he and Iroh recieve the phony invite to the palace)

"Oh my son, look at what I've done/ I am learning still, learning still/ Know that I am learning still/ Oh my wife, you are my life/ I am burning still, burning still/ Know that I am burning for you still/ All, all, all of my life is for you/ And home, home's anywhere you are too/ So take this one fallen memory/ Simply... forgive me"  
-Missy Higgins

Night had fallen and Zuko and Iroh went about closing the tea shop. "That was a good first day," Iroh remarked. "Plenty of customers."

"A lot of them from the old place," Zuko said with a grin. "They remember you." He yawned involuntarily and Iroh made a sound.

"Why don't you go off now. I'll finish up."

"Are you sure?" he asked, turning around.

"Yes. Go now, get some rest. You worked hard, Prince Zuko." Zuko smiled and nodded, putting his apron away and left, waving over his shoulder. Looking outside, he could tell it was a beautiful night... or perhaps he just felt exceptionally good this night. Either way he felt like wandering around a little, and he went off, knowing his uncle wouldn't mind if he was a few minutes late.

His mind was wandering a lot more lately, and he knew after his sickness something had freed him inside and he was able to drift off in different worlds now, no longer confined to thoughts of only hunting the avatar and regaining honor. He had all he needed here, and for once, he was greatful for it. Perhaps that was why everything seemed so good this day. Wandering off he passed the old tea shop and walked to the fountain in the center of town remembering his date with Jin.

The image of himself trying to juggle and dumping food all over himself flashed through his head and he grimaced, still feeling embarassed about it. He was just another in a long history of men to make a fool of himself in front of a girl.

Whatever happened to her, he wondered. After that she had shown up twice at the tea shop, and then stopped, perhaps too upset with him to be around him.

At the far end of the fountain he could see a shadow moving, and he watched for a minute, trying to see if it was someone he would recognize. From the looks of it, whomever it was, was trying to do the same. He stood still and slowly the figure moved around to see who he was. Once she stepped into the light, she took a quick step back and turned around. "I'm sorry!" she said suddenly. "I'll go."

"Jin?" asked Zuko, recognizing her. 'Speak of the devil,' his mind muttered. "You don't have to-"

"No," she said, glancing back at him. "I won't disturb you, Lee."

"You're not disturbing me," he said with a smile, remembering his nickname he'd used with her. "You can stay if you want. I know you like it here anyway." She had told him that on their 'date', so he knew she couldn't deny it. Turning and looking at him unsure she took a seat on the fountain's edge and looked out at the candles. "So..." muttered Zuko, scratching the back of his head. "How have you... uh... been?"

"Fine," she answered, not looking at him. "You?"

"Pretty good. Uncle and I opened up a new tea shop."

"I saw," she said, getting the courage to look at him slightly. "I almost dropped by today for a cup but I figured you'd be pretty busy... opening day and all..."

"It was a little crazy," Zuko chuckled. "He was thrilled though. He's earned it." Jin looked at him fully now.

"You're different," she muttered. "You're not the same guy I used to watch nervously from the back of a tea shop." Zuko shrugged.

"Now I'm the guy you stare at from the shadows at night," he muttered, and she laughed. "I'm not sure if that's better but-"

"I wasn't spying on you," she said, finally smiling. "So... you still juggle?"

"Just as great as last time," he answered, the embarassment coming back. "You still... got a big appetite... for a girl?"

"So I'm told," she giggled. "And that's just as flattering as before, by the way." He shrugged at that and she grinned. "So... is it still complicated?"

"What?"

"Last time when you left you just said, 'It's complicated.' Is it still?" He was unsure how to answer that so he looked at the ground nervously, shuffling his feet against the dirt. Jin's smile faded. "Oh," she muttered. Zuko looked up and saw her face.

"It was just too soon," he lied. "I mean... I've never dated, let alone had a girlfriend..."

"I kinda figured," she replied, glancing at the ground.

"But..." he said quickly, not wanting to upset her again. "I could always use a friend." He could feel a portion of his old self grimace. That was a line he never thought he'd use.

"I think I can do that," said Jin, looking up with a small smile. "Wanna hang out tomorrow then?"

"I'll be working all day with my uncle... everyday actually..." She started to frown again. "But I'm free evenings." Jin smiled and inside Zuko sighed with relief.

"Okay. I'll try to catch you sometime tomorrow then." She looked around and sighed. "It's getting late. I'd better go."

"Stop in for some tea sometime," he said and she nodded.

"I still have a coupon," she joked and stood up. She left, waving over her shoulder and he smiled. What he had said that morning was true. Things were looking up.


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N: Thanks for the reviews you guys! I haven't written on this site in a while, so it's good to be back. A few months ago I realized I have movie maker on my computer and I've played around with it a lot, so I ended up making a trailer or sorts for this fic -it's really a fancy slide show to music- but if you want to check it out, go to youtube(dot)com(/)smeagolsgirl - without the parenthesis obviously- and it'll take you to my youtube channel. The video featured right on there is the trailer so all you have to do is click place (it has a picture of Zuko and Jin together). It's nothing too special, I just want to get more readers now that I'm back... plus it gave me an excuse to play around with the program. I've just uploaded so it may no be available to veiw at this exact moment, but give it an hour or so and it should be up there. Well, on with the story.) 

The Jasmine Dragon had as successful second day as it had had on its opening day. People practically flooded the place and both Iroh and Zuko had their hands full running back and forth between customers. Zuko held out hope secretly that Jin would pop in at some point. Seeing her last night had made him happy, and he was glad that he hadn't totally ruined things between them. He hadn't had any real friends in so long; it was nice to have her around. He hadn't let his uncle know about this yet, knowing he'd get teased beyond his patience level.

"Lee," called his uncle (they had made the nickname official last night. "Could you please get your head out of the clouds and clean off the far left table? There's a customer waiting to be seated."

"Sorry, uncle!" Zuko called and hurried over, quickly to the table and picked up the tea cups and plates, hurrying them back into the kitchen to be washed. "You may want to consider hiring a second hand, Uncle," he commented as he passed his uncle. "Things are really getting busy around here."

"Why hire someone when I have you to work for free?" asked Iroh with a grin. Zuko smirked and rolled his eyes.

"I gotta seat this next customer," he muttered and hurried out. "Sorry about the wait," he stammered. "I'll take you to a-" He stopped and smiled. Jin stood there, tucking a strand of her thick brown hair behind her ear. "Hi," he said softly.

"Hi," she replied, laughing at him. "You said to drop by sometime." She looked around at all the people. "And you weren't kidding when you said it was busy around here."

"Not too busy," Zuko said quickly. "I'll take you to a table." He led her to the empty table he had just cleaned and sat her down.

"Hey boy!" shouted a customer from the other end. "Can I get a refill over here!"

"Coming," called Zuko, and he placed a menu in front of Jin. "I'll be back." He ran off to take care of the customer and Jin smiled, looking around to see if she could spot his uncle anywhere. He must be in the back with his hands full, she thought, and looked down at the menu, deciding what she wanted.

"Decided on anything?" he asked, and she looked up.

"Jasmine," she answered, handing him the menu.

He took it and went into the back, to give the order to his uncle. "I need a jasmine tea," he called, and Iroh looked up.

"All right... well, look who's here." His eyes were focused at the table Jin was sitting at and Zuko felt himself wince inside. He knew what was coming.

"Looks like she finally tracked you down. She still have that crush on you?"

"I don't know," said Zuko, trying not to turn red. "She ordered a jasmine-"

"You talked to her then? So what did she have to say? Did she miss you?  
Are you two going out again soon?"

"Uncle please!" snapped Zuko, a hint of his old side showing. "She's just here for tea."

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure of that," said Iroh with a knowing grin.

"Why not?" asked Zuko with a sigh.

"Because she hasn't stopped watching you since you came back here."

"Because she's probably wondering where her order is, Uncle!" Iroh chuckled to himself and poured out a small cup and set it on a saucer.

"Who knew you'd still be quite the ladies man," he teased and handed the tea to Zuko who took it without even looking at him as he left. Iroh chuckled again and went back to brewing, occasionally stealing glances at his nephew... taking note that he had seated himself across from the young lady now.  
----

"Sorry about the wait," said Zuko. "My uncle saw you back there and..." he didn't even need to finish because Jin was already giggling.

"I see," she laughed, taking a quick sip of her tea, which was still very hot. "Likes to give you a hard time?"

Zuko sighed and nodded, looking back on the years he'd spent with his loving uncle. "Yeah... he kinda does."

"My older brother's the same way. He always tells me that he'll be ready to scare off any boy who dares to date his baby sister." She laughed and shook her head (somewhere inside him a part of Zuko gulped and took note of that). "Where would we be without the teasing?"

"Probably in a more normal state of mind," Zuko muttered, glancing back at his uncle, catching him spying on them. "I'd better get back to work."

"I'll see you tonight?" she asked.

"Sure. Where do you want to meet?"

"I'll meet you here at nightfall and we can wander around. I'll show you some places you probably haven't seen yet."

"Sounds fun," he muttered and stood up. "See you then." She nodded and smiled, watching him walk away as she sipped her tea. She glanced over again and met eyes with Iroh, who winked at her knowingly. She blushed a bright red and looked at the floor.  
-  
(A/N: I'm going to bed now, but I hope you liked the chapter.)


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N: Thanks again for the reviews -some of you are really kind!- I'm going to try to update everyday which may mean that chapters won't be much longer than 3-4 pages, but at least I'll be updating frequently. And please check out my youtube channel sometime. I've made a bunch of Zuko videos -the Heart Like A Grave one is my favorite- so check that out if you can. Thanks and here's the next chapter.)

"My mother met my father when they were very young." Jin and Zuko were sitting on a hill, staring up at the night sky. She had taken him around the town to see a few old monuments with interesting stories behind them (a few of them reserected in memory of the soldiers killed by Iroh's army of  
firebenders) and they passed by where the old zoo had been. She then had taken him to the hill they were now sitting on because below it was an amazing veiw of the newly created zoo, much bigger with more room for the animals to roam around freely, but they both had become fascinated with  
the veiw above.

For some reason this had prompted Jin to start talking about her family, and Zuko listened intently. "She was a dancer, my mom. My father said she moved with such grace at times and it looked like she was floating off the ground. My father was a powerful earthbender. When he learned I didn't  
posses the skill he was very loving and accepting about it... but I couldn't help but feel he was disappointed in me... like there was something I was supposed to give him but couldn't. It used to haunt me a lot."

"I'm sorry," said Zuko softly. He knew what it was like to have a father who was never satisfied with you.

"It's not your fault," she said softly. "Besides I got over that, and proved to him that even though I couldn't earth bend I was still gifted and an exceptional daughter." She sighed and let the grass tangle between her fingers. "Sometimes though... I try a little too hard to impress him." He glanced at her and she smiled at him. "What about you?"

"Me?" he asked, trying quickly to whip up another story. He hadn't prepared for that, and he was surprised the thought had never occured to him. "Yeah. What are your parents like?"

He stammered, trying to piece together a story. He obviously couldn't tell her the truth about his father. That would not only drive her away from him, but it would also put both himself and Iroh in danger, and things had been going so well for them lately. "My father..." he thought for a moment. "I  
haven't seen my father in years..." he said, deciding to be a little truthful with her.

"Why not?" she asked. He shrugged, and she could tell he didn't want to go further into that topic. "What about your mother? I'm sure she's nice," she said quickly with a smile. Zuko's eyes darkened and he stared down at the grass, a sting of pain he handn't felt in a while coming back inside of him.  
"Lee," she asked softly, feeling bad for bringing it up.

"My mother died when I was a kid," he said without thinking. Jin gasped, now really regretting bringing it up.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"The truth is there's not much to talk about," he muttered. "I don't even know how she died. I just woke up one morning and she wasn't there. My father... he was the one who told me she was gone." Jin looked down, not knowing what to say. "I loved her," muttered Zuko, more to himself than her.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated, still at a loss for words. There was an awkward silence and they sat there, staring at the stars. Then a thought came to Jin. "Did I ever tell you I had a little brother?" Zuko looked at her and shook his head. "He was born too early," she said. "He died before my mother even got a chance to hold him."

"I'm sorry," said Zuko, now at a loss for words himself.

"I remember my mother had been so excited when she learned she was pregnant. I thought his death would destroy her. But when I went in the room she looked peaceful about it." Jin smiled a little. "When I asked her why she wasn't sad, she pulled me up on the bed and pointed out the  
window at the stars. She said that each star is the soul of someone who has crossed over, and the ones burning brightest are the ones who loved you and are looking down at you. Then she pointed to a large one and said, "He's right there, see?" After that I looked out my window every night to see if I could find him." Zuko couldn't help but smile and looked up at the sky.

"Do you still believe that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," said Jin. "But it still gives me comfort sometimes." Zuko smiled and layed back in the grass, tucking an arm behind his head and scanning the sky for a bright star.

"That does help," he muttered. Jin smiled sheepishly and pulled her legs up, tucking her knees under her chin, watching the evening go by.  
----

"I can walk you home," said Zuko as they headed back into the village.

"You probably shouldn't," said Jin. "My father can be a little... well let's just say I haven't had a lot of boys knocking at my door for a reason."

"Oh," he said.

"But I'll walk you home," she teased and he grinned. They headed over to his aparment and when he got to the door she looked up at him with a smile.

"Thanks for the good time," said Zuko softly.

"Tomorrow then?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "Tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll probably be in for tea again, incase your uncle wanted to know ahead of time to come up with some more teasing material."

"Believe me, he'll think of something. He's almost as talented with that as he is with tea." He secretly thought that if his uncle had put as much effort into teasing as he did into exercising, he'd be a lot thinner, but decided not to say that. "So I'll... uh," he gestured to the door and she nodded.

"Okay, see you later." He paused for a minute as if he were thinking to do something, but then turned and headed inside, closing the door behind him. Jin smiled and turned, heading to her home.  
----

"You were out later last night," said Iroh as Zuko walked into the kitchen, still barely awake. "Have a good date with the young lady?"

"It wasn't a date," yawned Zuko. "We just wandered around a lot and talked."

"You know I think she still has the crush on you," said Iroh with a grin.

"You said that before," he groaned.

"I'm only reminding you to just encourage you not to do anything you may regret with her," said Iroh. Zuko nearly choked on his breakfast.

"Uncle!" he cried.

"I'm only saying this because you're human, Prince Zuko. And more importantly you're a teenage boy. And now that you're not preoccupied with hunting the avatar your mind will probably begin to start thinking about things it hasn't had time to you." Zuko was wondering if he'd still have his appetite for much longer.

"Uncle... please..." he groaned. Iroh came up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not saying I don't trust you, Prince Zuko. I only want you to make wise decisions." Zuko looked up at him.

"We're not dating right now, Uncle. We're nothing more than friends, so you have nothing to worry about." Iroh smiled and nodded. "And next time... could you wait till after breakfast to have this little talk?"  
----

The Jasmine Dragon's large crowd had cut down this morning, and Zuko was releaved that he didn't have his hands so full this time. He even found himself having some down time where he really had nothing to do. Even though he felt relaxed with this knowledge, he knew his uncle was probably  
feeling a little discouraged. But he knew they'd still get in a good number anyway.

Around noon Jin showed up, and after recieving many winks and jokes from his uncle he brought out cups of tea for both her and himself, not needing to tend on anyone at the moment. "Looks like you finally get a break," she commented as he seated himself.

"I know. Where is everyone?"

"There's a festival going on down the road, didn't you know?"

"No," he answered, taking a sip. "What for?"

"They always have one today, every year. There's fireworks later on at night, and all kinds of great food. It's the best. I know you'll love it. We can watch the fireworks tonight." Zuko smiled and nodded and Jin picked up her tea cup.

"Hey, you didn't even take my order!" she said, looking at it suspiciously.

"You always order the same thing, even when you came to the other shop," he replied.

"You remember?" she asked.

"Of course. I was the one who always had to serve it to you." She smiled and took a sip, satisfied with that answer.  
----  
(A/N: This chapter was started at my house, worked on a little more at rehersal while I was working the sound desk, and was ended at my house. So it's traveled around to get to you, lol. R&R as always and cheers!)


	4. Chapter 4

(A/N: Some of these chapters are getting done in several places at once and it's kinda funny. Thank you, those who review, and those who don't… I know where you live… so we should have a party sometime. I'll bring the pizza. And remember, I want the criticism along with the 'this is awesome!'. I have a lot of respect for people with the guts to tell me what I'm screwing up and need to work on, so if you feel I'm messing something up, please let me know. It's the only way I'll get any better. Thanks again, and on we go!)

Zuko and Jin wandered around the village, stopping once in a while to look at the different stands and see what they were selling. When they passed a jewelry stand Zuko bought her a woven bracelet with a rose in the center of it, feeling lucky that his uncle had given him some money before he had left. When Jin placed it around her wrist she beamed at him, and for a moment his was pretty happy with himself.

"The fireworks should be starting soon. I know the perfect spot to see them!" She grabbed his wrist and tugged him with her through the crowd and up to a secluded spot where there were few people. They sat down in the grass together and she watched eagerly, waiting for them to errupt. Zuko hadn't seen a good firework show in a long time and secretly he was almost as excited as she was. "I love this," she said, smiling widely. "Every year they show off the new ones during the finale and they usually have the most amazing fireworks I've ever seen!"

"I can't wait then," he said calmly and grinned at her. She smiled and fiddled with her new bracelet. At that moment sparks flew and the first set of fireworks shot up into the air with a loud crack, making both of them jump. Jin laughed and pointed at it in wonder, even though it looked like a regular firework with nothing very fancy to it. Zuko smiled and leaned back, supporting himself with his hands set behind him, and they watched and laughed together with every new blaze of light.

A blue one errupted and it spread out into thousands of tiny birds, and flitting their wings excitedly and flying right over the spectators heads. Jin bounced up trying to catch one, even though she knew she couldn't, and laughed as she came back down to the ground empty handed. Zuko smiled at her and turned his eyes back on the show.

The fireworks went on for a good half hour, and even thought they stayed amazing through each new burst of light, the excitement wore down and soone Jin was hardly bouncing up and laughing at them. The smiles remained on their faces however, and Zuko couldn't help but wonder if she had moved closer in the last few minutes. Soon they stopped and the sky was completely dark. "The finale!" Jin whispered in excitement, and Zuko smiled when he saw her eyes light up. She looked at him and smiled back, and scooted a little closer.

'She's just a friend,' Zuko's mind reminded him, but he knew she wanted to be closer. Seeing no harm in it, he put his arm over her shouldersZuko and Jin wandered around the village, stopping once in a while to look at the different stands and see what they were selling. When they passed a jewelry stand Zuko bought her a woven bracelet with a rose in the center of it, feeling lucky that his uncle had given him some money before he had left. When Jin placed it around her wrist she beamed at him, and for a moment his was pretty happy with himself.

"The fireworks should be starting soon. I know the perfect spot to see them!" She grabbed his wrist and tugged him with her through the crowd and up to a secluded spot where there were few people. They sat down in the grass together and she watched eagerly, waiting for them to errupt. Zuko hadn't seen a good firework show in a long time and secretly he was almost as excited as she was. "I love this," she said, smiling widely. "Every year they show off the new ones during the finale and they usually have the most amazing fireworks I've ever seen!"

"I can't wait then," he said calmly and grinned at her. She smiled and fiddled with her new bracelet. At that moment sparks flew and the first set of fireworks shot up into the air with a loud crack, making both of them jump. Jin laughed and pointed at it in wonder, even though it looked like a regular firework with nothing very fancy to it. Zuko smiled and leaned back, supporting himself with his hands set behind him, and they watched and laughed together with every new blaze of light.

A blue one errupted and it spread out into thousands of tiny birds, and flitting their wings excitedly and flying right over the spectators heads. Jin bounced up trying to catch one, even though she knew she couldn't, and laughed as she came back down to the ground empty handed. Zuko smiled at her and turned his eyes back on the show.

The fireworks went on for a good half hour, and even thought they stayed amazing through each new burst of light, the excitement wore down and soone Jin was hardly bouncing up and laughing at them. The smiles remained on their faces however, and Zuko couldn't help but wonder if she had moved closer in the last few minutes. Soon they stopped and the sky was completely dark. "The finale!" Jin whispered in excitement, and Zuko smiled when he saw her eyes light up. She looked at him and smiled back, and scooted a little closer.

'She's just a friend,' Zuko's mind reminded him, but he knew she wanted to be closer. Seeing no harm in it, he put his arm over her shoulders and she scooted so she was brushing up next to him. A white blaze of light shot up and took the form of a dragon, stretching its wings out and flying straight up into the night sky. Once it was up about ten feet it exploded, melting open as red and orange lights that resembled flames fired out and took the shape of a face. The face made a lot of people cheer, but Zuko looked down at the grass, feeling old feelings beginning to wake inside of him.

"The avatar!" exclaimed Jin. "That's amazing! They say he's come back at last to defeat the fire nation." Zuko said nothing, and had she not been distracted by the brightly flaring lights, his face would surely have given himself away. "I still can't believe it's only a kid. I wonder what it's like to be that young and have that kind of weight on your shoulders…"

Zuko still said nothing, but this time made more of an effort to hide his feelings. "Have you seen him?" asked Jin. Zuko shook his head. "Me neither. But I've heard he's pretty wise for his age." Zuko shrugged and suddenly remember his arm was around her, and he felt a burst of warmth shoot through him, not being able to hold back a smile. "What?" asked Jin. He turned red with embarrassment and looked away.

"Nothing," he muttered and worked to control his smile. He had a hard time doing this however because she rested her head up against his shoulder. At first he thought she was snuggling up to him, but when he looked she yawned and realized she was just tired. He guessed there was no harm in letting her stay there so he said nothing. "You wanna head back soon?" he asked, assuming the show was almost over.

"Not yet," she answered. "I like it up here." He smiled faintly and watched the remainder of the show silently, listening to her occasional gasps and laughs at the fireworks. After a while it began to fade away and soon the sky became black with the exception of a few traces of smoke left over. Zuko looked down at her face which was peacful, but still showed signs of weariness, and he smiled at her.

"We should go," he muttered, starting to stand, but she didn't move.

"Not yet," she whispered. Now Zuko felt uncomfortable. He was unsure of what to do and he knew Jin still had feelings for him. If he stayed he knew he'd only help her feed into those feelings and he didn't want that. He knew a relationship like that was impossible. All it would take was for her to know who he really was and then she'd run from him and never look back. He looked away from her and up at the night sky.

She was so beautiful.

"I know why you're shutting me out," she said suddenly, and he looked at her. "You're afraid of what could happen... what could go wrong. You're so used to not being able to depend on anyone that you think if you start to give way you'll only be disappointed again." That was partially true, he thought, but he couldn't say anything else to her about what was true. "You know you can trust me, Lee."

It's not you who can't be trusted, Zuko thought as she called him by the name that wasn't even his. He couldn't take anymore, and stood up, forcing her to remove her head from his shoulder. "Lee," she called, but he kept on walking. He couldn't stay.

He couldn't face her.

He couldn't fall for her.  
----

Iroh was heating up a second pot of tea when Zuko came running in. "Why did you let me oversleep?!" he cried.

"You were out late last night," said Iroh, glancing up at him. "I thought I'd let you get some rest. You looked tired."

"I'm fine," he grumbled, feeling rather grumpier than usual. He glanced over and spotted Jin sitting at her usual table, sipping tea. "When did she get here?" he asked, remembering the night before.

"A few minutes ago," said Iroh with a grin. "Sorry, I already got the tea to her, but you can check and see if she wants a refil." He winked and Zuko groaned, rolling his eyes.

"No thanks," he muttered and when out to tend to a customer that had just walked in. Iroh looked over and noticed how Zuko avoided Jin altogether and sighed.

"Perhaps some things aren't meant to be," he muttered, and went back to work.  
----

The tea shop was opened till later that night, and when they had finally closed, Zuko stayed behind an extra hour cleaning and making up for work he had missed when he had slept in. Iroh left before him, leaving him with the keys to lock up, and Zuko had plenty of time to think while he worked.  
He thought about Jin and how he'd ruined it again, only this time possibly for good. Giving her the cold shoulder all day had hurt her, and he knew it. But he tried to convince himself it was for the best. After all, no one loved firebenders.

He finished up and locked up as his uncle had requested, having to blink a few times when he'd stepped out into the dark. His mind was still full and he didn't want to have to go home and listen to his uncle lecture him on his attitude, so he wandered over to the fountain again, knowing no one would be there this late. However, he was wrong.

He was barely in veiw of the fountain when he spotted Jin sitting on the edge, almost as if she'd been waiting for him. She looked at him and then at the ground, sadness written in her eyes, and he knew he'd hurt her. He wanted to turn around, but he couldn't make himself do it so he walked up to her and sat down next to her, looking at her nervously. "Hi," he muttered and she glanced at him.

"Hi," she muttered back and looked back down on the ground.

"Listen..." he started to say, trying to come up with the right words. "...about what happened..."

"I'm sorry," she cut in before he could finish.

"What?" he asked, staring at her confused.

"I came on strong and you already told me you don't want to date right now. You just want a friend." She shuffled her feet a little and got the courage to look at him. "I should have respected that and I'm sorry." Zuko felt guilty knowing she shouldn't be apologizing, but not knowing what else to say, he nodded.

"It's okay," he muttered. "And it's not you," he added, "I... I can't date right now. There's been too much going on in my life... things you wouldn't understand... Things you're better off not getting involved in..."

"Like your scar?" she asked, taking him by surprise. "I know it has something to do with it, but I don't know what."

"It's not the scar," he answered, fingering it involuntarily, almost as if to check that it was still there. "It's a lot of things." There was an awkward silence.

"You don't like me like that... do you?" she said, more as a statement than a question. He didn't look at her or make any answer and she nodded, standing up to leave.

"That's not true," he said, and she froze in her place. Slowly the turned and his head remained pointed to the ground, but his eyes slowly moved up to her. She walked over to him and kneeled down, looking him in the eye.

"Do you like me?" she asked. "And not as just a friend. I need to know the truth Lee."

The truth is my name's not Lee, he thought to himself. She stared at him waiting, and her eyes made him cave. "I do," he answered. He thought of their kiss and he suddenly wanted to do that again... but he couldn't bring himself to move. He just stared at her, and she smiled in understanding as if his eyes said enough.

"That's all I need," she said softly, and held out a hand to him. He took it and stood up. "I'll see you around," she said softly, turning to leave.

"Jin!" he called and she turned. He didn't have the strength to kiss her, but he had the strength for something else. He ran up to her and threw his arms around her, giving her a warm embrace. She wrapped her arms around him, seeming unfased by this sudden burst of movement, and after a moment they parted, waving goodbye to each other.


	5. Chapter 5

(A/N: I hated that last chapter for some reason, oh well. On we go! Oh, and I am writing from my school library. This'll probably be finished at home.) 

The crowd the Jasmine Dragon had been lacking the last few days had picked up substantially today, and Zuko and Iroh were running around non-stop trying to tend to each customer. "Uncle, we need 2 more jasmines over here!" called Zuko through the crowd.

"I'm brewing as fast as I can!" he called back with a grin, enjoying the newfound popularity. Zuko wanted to share his enthusiasm, but he was already becoming tired, and the last customer he'd spoken with had been very short tempered with him. There were shouts of, "Where's my tea!" and "I want a refill!" and an occasional, "I dropped my spoon, I need a new one!" With the last one Zuko went back into the kitchen to grab a new one, grumbling to himself, "Haven't they ever heard of the five second rule?"Secretly he knew he wouldn't even follow that rule.

He pulled open a drawer, fishing around for a new spoon, and when he pulled it up, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and Jin stood there with a smile. He smiled back, forgetting for a moment the chaos of the day. "Your uncle said you could use a hand," she said softly, reaching past him to grab an apron.

"He did?"

"Here," she said, taking the spoon. "I'll deliver this. There's two people waiting to be seated." He nodded, still a little confused and watched as she went back to take care of the grouchy customer, who was now complaining about not having a spoon. Iroh walked up to him with a grin and patted him on the shoulder.

"I thought the Jasmine Dragon could benefit from some female employees." Zuko raised his eyebrow and watched his uncle walk by.

"When have you ever thought that?!" he cried.  
----

The extra help didn't get rid of the chaos altogether, but it helped substantially to bring it down. And towards the end when Zuko was at the register briefly, he caught a quick glimpse of the day's profits and smiled. Judging by what was in there, they wouldn't be going hungry anytime soon.  
Jin came up from behind and placed some more money in the drawer, closing it for Zuko. "Phew!" she sighed. "Crazy day, huh?" She patted his shoulder as she walked by and he grinned a little watching her walk away.

Her legs were exposed a little more today, probably because of how warm the days had been getting. Or her clothes were too short. Either way he couldn't help but steal glimpses of her legs as she walked away, smiling unintentionally.

Something struck up lightly upside the back of his head and he turned around to see his uncle with his hand raised from hitting him. "Eyes above the waist at all times, _Lee_!" he scolded, and hurried off to brew more tea. Zuko blushed a bright red and went back to work, thoroughly embarrassed.  
----

At first it seemed years away, but finally Zuko found himself staring at the last few minutes before closing and he smiled to himself, grateful it was almost over. "Two more minutes," he called to Jin, who was sweeping. It was more as a declaration of excitement, rather than letting her know she should finish up. "Only two more minutes."

"Wimp," she teased, putting her hand on her hip.

"Wimp?!" he shouted, and pointed his mop at her. She gave a cry running backwards as he flicked the soaked end at her, sprinkling her clothes a little.

"Oh you asked for it!" she shouted and swung at him with her broom handle. They began to go after each other, pretending the mop and broom were swords, laughing as they attacked each other. Zuko whipped around and smudged the soaked mop into her face. Jin lost her balance and fell over backwards with a loud thud.

"Ow!" she cried, grabbing at her ankle and he dropped the mop and kneeled down next to her.

"I'm so sorry! Where does it hurt?" She looked up at him with a smile, and he realized he'd been tricked. Before he could get out of the way she grabbed the bucket of mop water and tossed it on him, completely soaking his head and torso. He coughed and sputtered as he got to his feet and she stood up, cracking her knuckles.

"And that is why you never pick on a girl."

"I'm seriously beginning to doubt you two understand the difference between cleaning and making a mess," said Iroh, making them jump. Zuko picked up the mop and Jin turned red, slightly embarassed.

"Sorry, Uncle," Zuko muttered. And he went back to work, cleaning up. Jin when into the back to wash dishes and when she was gone he smiled to himself and shook his head.  
----

"I think she'll be a great addition to our little team," said Iroh as they walked off. "She's quick, she's patient with the customers, and she seems to be able to put up with your quirks, Prince Zuko." Zuko smiled and looked at the ground.

"She was a big help," he said softly. "And if we get another crowd like that tomorrow it'll be great to have her." Iroh nodded and walked off.

"The Jasmine Dragon has really taken off these past few days. Maybe some day we'll branch out, make this a family business."

"No offense, Uncle," said Zuko, glancing up at him. "I don't plan to be serving tea for the rest of my life."

"I understand," said Iroh. "Besides, you're not very good at making it anyway." He chuckled and Zuko rolled his eyes.  
----

"I've just seated two more people," said Zuko, hurrying up to Jin in the kitchen. "They're at the table in the far left corner."

"Okay," she said, placing two cups of tea on the serving tray. "This goes to the center table. The lady has jasmine and the man has ginseng."

"Which is which?" he asked, pointing to the cups. She pointed to them one at a time, naming them off.

"Ginseng... jasmine." He nodded and turned, then stopped and looked over at her.

"Oh, and a heads up, the two men that just came in seemed rather... grouchy."

"Got it," she said, taking a deep breath to brace herself, and she stepped out to serve them. Zuko hurried out to the center table and placed the cups of tea down to their appropriate owners.

"If you need anything else, just call," he said, and looked up to see another man entering. This man was dressed up in rich clothing and Zuko realized it was someone from the palace. Taking a deep breath he walked over to the man, ready to serve him. "May I help you?" he asked.

"I have a message here for the owner of this tea shop."

"One moment," said Zuko, and he hurried off into the kitchen to fetch Iroh. They emerged within minutes and Iroh looked up at the man with warm smile, wondering if he was going to be serving a man of the palace.

"How may I assist you?" he asked.

"I have a message for you," said the man, and he handed a rolled up parchment to Iroh, and then left. Zuko turned around and looked at his uncle expectantly.

"Well? What is it?" he asked. Iroh scanned over the letter and his eyes brightened with excitement.

"Great news!" he declared. "We've been asked to serve tea at the palace."

"The Earth King's palace?!" cried Jin, running up. "That's so wonderful!" Zuko smiled at his uncle, feeling proud for him, and after a moment of excitement they were forced to go back to work, their customers not really caring what was going on.

That night they closed early, Iroh intending to celebrate this accomplishment, and Jin and Zuko were allowed to leave a few hours ealier than usual. They wandered down the street, hand in hand and made a stop at a restaraunt to celebrate over desert.

"Who'd have thought this would happen?" said Zuko with a grin.

"Your uncle seems to be becoming successful very fast," she said, taking a mouthful of her desert. "You must be proud."

"I'm happy for him. After all the old man's been through... he deserves this"  
Jin smiled at him.

"Don't you think you've earned some happiness too?" Zuko shrugged and took a bite so he didn't have to answer. "Wonder what you're uncle's doing to celebrate," she muttered, changing the subject.

"Not entirely sure I want to know," said Zuko. "Knowing him, nothing too interesting." Jin laughed. "You do know this is all we're going to hear about tomorrow while we're working."

"I know," she said. "I've braced myself."

"You're not the one he's going to keep up all night talking about it though," he said, taking another bite. "I'm not going to be getting any sleep listening to him."

"Could you at least try to sound positive about this?" Jin teased. "Your uncle has worked hard for this and so have you. You two deserve this reward so enjoy it." Zuko chuckled a little.

"Not something I'm used to," he said and she kicked him under the table.

"Be positive!" she scolded as he reached over and rubbed his leg.

"Oh thanks for the bruise! I so enjoyed it! Could you punch me in the face later? That would be wonderful!" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. She rolled her eyes, debating on flinging some of her food at him.

"You're hopeless."  
----


	6. Chapter 6

(A/N: PLEASE READ THIS! The first part is important or you'll probably get confused by the chapter. I changed a detail in the previous chapter I posted last night because I don't like how fast I have some of this moving. Basically I've changed the letter announcing that they've been requested to serve tea at the palace to give Zuko and Iroh one last day before they walk into Azula's trap. I've also taken the last part of that chapter (Zuko and Jin's fountain conversation) and moved into this chapter. The ending to the previous chapter has been changed so you may want to go back and read it. Only the ending has been changed. I wanted Zuko and Jin to have a chance to be together one last time before everything starts to go bad. Also, I apologize for typos. My computer I use has a veeeery old outdated word processor (microsoft works -not word-), so there is NO SPELLCHECK. Yeah, looking for typos is pretty irritating, but I'm trying to be more careful about them. And, because someone asked, unless the info bellow the link to my story says 'complete', it's not complete. I know the summary says to expect angst and character deaths, and they are coming. We just haven't gotten to them yet.) 

Zuko woke up with a strange sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt nauseous, and dizzy as if he'd just been spun around on a wagon wheel, getting beat up by the ground. For a moment he thought he would actually vomit, but it faded away, but a dark feeling hovered in his mind like a cloud. He felt as if something very bad was about to happen.

He stood up from his bed and went about getting dressed, shoving the feeling as far back in his mind as he could. When he walked into the kitchen his uncle was making breakfast and whistling happily. Zuko couldn't help but smile at this and he shoved the last bit of worry out of his mind. Whatever had been haunting him was only an illusion, he thought. Everything was going to be all right.  
----

Jin came in a little late, rushing in to find her apron. "I'm so sorry I'm late," she said as she sped past Iroh. When she got in the back and grabbed her apron, Zuko was already there, holding it. He tossed it on her and went about getting ready.

"You're late," he said, picking on her.

"My mom and I had an argument and it went longer than I'd hoped," she said. "But it's all settled now."

"What were you arguing about?" asked Zuko.

"Nothing," said Jin. "Let's get to work."

The crowd that came that day was not nearly as large as before, but it was still a good sized one, and Zuko and Jin found themselves rushing about at times. Towards the afternoon things calmed down a bit and they both took a five minute break to have lunch.

"Are you okay?" asked Jin, pouring herself some tea. "You've seemed a little out of it today."

"Long night," said Zuko. "Didn't sleep much."

"Excited about tomorrow?" she asked. He nodded, even though that wasn't true. "Well glad to see you're finally enjoying this." He remembered the bruise on his leg and smiled.

"Of course," he muttered, "Sleeping on a sore leg didn't help much either."

"What happened to it?" she asked, taking in a mouthful of food.

"Someone kicked it," he said with a mischevious grin.

"The monster," she muttered with a smile.

The truth was Zuko had slept fine. The feeling he had felt earlier but pushed out of his mind had been crawling back all day, and now he was having a hard time fighting it. As he spoke with her he felt it growing worse and wrose, and Jin's smile faded as she looked at him.

"Lee?" she asked. Zuko didn't respond. "Lee!" she snapped and he jerked himself out of thought, remembering he was not Zuko here, but Lee. He could only hope he hadn't blown his cover. Jin stared at him concerned. "Are you sick?" she asked. "You're really not looking well."

"I'm fine," he answered, his face saying the opposite. "Just don't worry about me." Jin sighed and finished eating, practically hurrying back to work so she could leave him alone.  
----

Zuko finally convinced Jin to let him walk her home, and he wanted to apologize to her. "After all his hard work, this must be like a miracle to your uncle," said Jin.

"Yeah," said Zuko. "Who knew spending years obsessing over tea would ever pay off?" He shrugged and kept walking.

"Welll, I'm sorry I won't be able to enjoy it with you," she said sadly and looked up at him.

"Why not? You're welcome to come."

"I know that," she said. "But tomorrow's my big brother's birthday and my mother's been planning a surprised party for week and I promised to help out. I can't back out now." Zuko sighed and she patted his shoulder.

"But have a great time and tell me every detail the day after, all right?" He nodded, still looked disappointed and they walked a little further. "And hopefully you'll be feeling better tomorrow too. After all it is a big deal."

Zuko's dark cloud grew thicker and he finally couldn't take it anymore. "Something's wrong," he said to her and stopped walking altogether. "I don't know what it is but something about this... something doesn't feel right."

Jin sighed and threw her hand up in the air. "There you go again, being negative!" she cried. "It's like you don't know how to be happy about a good thing!"

"I don't know if this is a good thing!" he snapped angrily, and she jumped back in surprise.

"All day I've had this feeling that something bad it going to happen tomorrow..." Jin could tell he was serious by the look in his eyes. "I may be off, I may just be paranoid, but I can't get rid of this feeling. I've been fighting it all day." He stared at the ground and Jin looked at him, at a loss for words. He looked very distraught and she was struggling for the right thing to say.

"Lee..." she muttered. "I didn't know..." She felt bad for teasing him and wished she hadn't pressed on his nerves so much when it looked like they already had been on the edge all day. She walked over and took his hand. "Come with me," she said softly, and she led him to the fountain where all the candles were lit brightly. No one else was there and she knew it'd be safe to talk there.

She sat with him on the ground, next to the fountain, and sat so she was facing him. "It's going to be all right, Lee," she said comfortingly. "Whatever's going on inside you, it's going to be all right. Tomorrow will be a success and you and your uncle will finally be getting the rewards you deserve." He looked up at her and she reached out, touching his face where he was scarred.

"Lee," she muttered. "Don't worry about it. Trust me."

Zuko stared at her for a minute, and suddenly he was staring at his mother. She looked at him pleadingly, eyes wide in terror. "Help me, Zuko!" she cried. The vision flashed fast, and Zuko jumped to his feet, stumbling over and falling backwards. He hit his head on the stone beneath him, and he felt Jin rush to his side and help him sit up.

"Lee!" she cried in surprise. "Are you all right?"

He looked up at her, greatful to see it was her, and not the vision of his mother that had just haunted him. He couldn't speak but stared at her, breathing heavily. "Lee, what's wrong?" she asked. He stared at her, half expecting her to change again, but when she didn't he inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Nothing," he answered. He got to his feet slowly, Jin following him and she looked him over.

"You hit your head hard," she muttered. "You should go home and lay down, Lee."

"I'm all right," he said and stared at her eyes. She was so worried for him and he could see it. She really did care for him... a lot. He smiled down sadly at her and placed his hand on her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "I'm all right," he repeated and her face lightened a little. "Come on," he said, taking her hand. "Lets get you home"  
----

They walked up to her house and he gave her a quick embrace at the door. "Have a good time tomorrow," she whispered with a smile. "It'll be all right," she added, a hint of promise in her voice. He nodded and let go of her hand so she could go in.

"Jin," he said as she was stepping through her doorway. "Tomorrow night I'll meet you at the fountain and tell you everything." She turned around and looked at him. "If you'll be free then, I mean."

"I should be," she said. "It might be late though..."

"I don't care," he said. "It's not like Uncle will let me sleep after anyway. He'll stay up all night talking about how great it was and I'll be up having to listen to it." Jin laughed and nodded. "I'll wait for you."

"Okay then, I'll be there." She waved over her shoulder and closed the door behind her. Zuko smiled to himself and began to head back to his apartment. After going through years and years of nothing but bad, for once everything was working out for good. He shoved the dark cloud even further and the way he saw it, nothing could go wrong and ruin his life now...

And the way he saw it couldn't have been anymore dead wrong.  
-  
(A/N: I'll try to do another chapter tonight because I don't think I'll be able to update tomorrow. I'm usually really busy on sundays.)


	7. Chapter 7

(A/N: As promised, another chapter.) 

"Uncle, hurry up!" called Zuko as he stepped out of the apartment. "We're gonna be late!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" he called from inside. Zuko sighed, waiting impatiently by the door.

"Lee!" shouted a voice, and he turned to see Jin running up to him. He smiled and she ran up and gave him a quick hug. "I only have a minute so I thought I'd come and wish you good luck," she said with a smile. "Where's your uncle?"

"Scrambling around inside still," said Zuko, rolling his eyes.

"Feeling better?" she asked him and he nodded.

"A little," he answered. He was still having doubts, but not as badly now.

"Good," she said and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I have to go. Good luck, Lee!" And like that she was gone, hurrying off to wherever she was supposed to be. Zuko watched her go with a smile and Iroh came out at last.

"What are you staring at? We're going to be late, nephew!" Zuko rolled his eyes again and hurried off.  
----

"Something's wrong," muttered Zuko as he waited with his uncle. "They should be here by now."

"Perhaps he over slept," said Iroh, keeping his hopes up. The doubt was growing again in Zuko's mind and he became nervous. His worries became worse when a group of earth bending guards walked in and surrounded them in a circle. Knowing something was terribly wrong Zuko readied himself for the worst. The person who walked in was worse than what he had been expecting.

"It's tea time," said a nasty voice he knew too well and he looked up to see his sister standing there with a dark smile on her face.

"Azula!" shouted Zuko, jumping to his feet. Iroh stood up as well, knowing now they had walked straight into a trap.

"Have you met the Dai Li? They're earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that's so firebender. I just love it." Zuko cringed, all his worries now making sense. If there was one person in the world who could make him feel sick to his stomach and put a dark cloud over his mind for days on end,  
it was definitely Azula. Beside him his uncle calmly picked up a cup of tea and looked Azula in the eye.

"Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname 'The Dragon of the West'?" he asked. Zuko stood still, trying to see where he was going with this and Azula sighed.

"I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle," she said while rolling her eyes.

Iroh shrugged and moved the cup of tea closer to his lips. "It's more of a demonstration."

Knowing immediatly where this was going, Zuko dodged behind his uncle who stalled by taking a quick swig of tea, and then opened his mouth widely, a blast of fire shooting out and blasting the Dai Li out of their way. Iroh then blasted a hole in the wall and Zuko was the first to jump through it, scrambling out into the hallway with his uncle closely behind.

The Dai Li persued them, firing tiny darts at them, and Zuko finally turned to fight some of them to give his uncle a chance for escape. Iroh conjured up a bolt of lightning and blasted a large hole in the palace wall and jumped out with a cry, crashing down into the bushes below. Once he landed he looked up at Zuko who was standing there and staring down through the hole at him. "Come on!" shouted Iroh. "You'll be fine!"

Zuko stared at him, almost jumping, but stopped. All his life he'd had nothing but bad happen to him. And now that he finally had a chance for some good to come to him, Azula was once again hot on his tail and ruining everything for him. All he'd done was run from her, always avoiding her. He thought of Jin, he thought of the Jasmine Dragon, and he thought of his uncle. If he ran again, he'd lose them all and he knew it.

"Jump!" shouted Iroh again. Zuko shook his head and took a step back.

"No," he called back. "I'm tired of running! It's time I faced Azula." He turned and walked back inside and Iroh groaned, slapping his forehead. Knowing Zuko would surely be killed if he didn't do anything, he got to his feet and ran for help.  
----

Zuko turned and faced Azula and the Dai Li who were standing in front of him now, ready to attack (all except for Azula at least). "You're so dramatic," sighed Azula. "What are you gonna do now? Challenge me to an Agni Kai?"

"Yes!" shouted Zuko, his face filled with rage. "I challenge you!"

She sighed and looked away lazily. "No thanks," she mocked. But Zuko was not going to take that for an answer. He waved his hands slowly below him and conjured up a large ball of fire. Focusing all his hatred on Azul, he launched it at her with a shout, but she stepped back and the Dai Li raised the floor where she'd been standing and formed it as a protective wall to deflect the fire.

The ground Zuko stood on began to move, and before he could do anything, the stone shot up and wrapped around his right foot. Losing his balance from surprise he fell forward on one hand, and the ground it touched came up and wrapped around his wrist, locking him in place. Azula smiled,  
knowing she'd won again, and walked away, leaving her brother to the Dai Li.  
----

Zuko was thrown violently into the crystalized cave and he could have sworn he heard the guard who threw him there say, "You've got company." As he picked himself up he wondered who else could possibly be there, and when his eyes landed on Katara he sank down to the floor, his eyes darkening. This day just kept getting better and better. Katar's eyes were boring into him, and he turned himself around so his back was facing her. He didn't want to start a fight, and he could only hope she would feel the same. When she opened her mouth, she proved otherwise.

"Why did they throw you in here!?" she shouted. "Oh wait, let me guess, its a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches?" The truth was he hadn't even thought of Aang until she had mentioned him, but at the moment he couldn't care less the avatar was in the city as well. "You're a terrible person, you know that?" Katar continued. She was so shaken with rage she was spewing it all out on him, but he remained calm and took it gently. "Always following us, hunting the Avatar, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood."

Zuko snapped his head around at her now, unable to control himself. "You don't know what you're talking about!" he shouted.

"I don't?!" she cried. "How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally!" She spun around, sinking to her knees and he could hear her voice choking with sobs. "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me." Her fingers traced over her necklace, and Zuko's face changed from anger to sympathy.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, and truly meaning it too. "That's something we have in common." Katara looked up and faced him, her eyes open in surprise. "You have no idea what I've been through either," he said. "You think you're the only one who's suffered at the hands of the Fire Nation, but you're wrong." He fingered his scar, turning his face so she wouldn't see. They sat in silence for a long time, and finally Katara stood up and faced him.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you before," she said softly, eyeing the floor beneath her and running her foot across it.

"It doesn't matter," said Zuko.

"It's just that, for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was, your face," she explained and Zuko turned fully, facing her now and gradually got to his feet.

"My face..." he muttered, touching his scar again. "I see..."

"No no!" cried Katara, feeling guilty now. "That's not what I meant."

"It's okay. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever..." Katara looked down at the ground, almost as if she felt pity for him now. "But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny. Even if I'll never be free of my mark"  
For some reason his mind then wandered to Jin and he smiled unintentionally.

"Maybe you could be free of it," said Katara suddenly, calling Zuko out of thought.

"What?" he asked, not sure what she could do to help.

"I have healing abilities."

Zuko frowned. "It's a scar," he muttered. "It can't be healed." Katara reached in her pouch and pulled out a small vile.

"This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important. I don't know if it would work but..." Her voice trailed off and Zuko closed his eyes and lowered his head, deciding to at least let her try. If there was one thing he'd love to be free of it was his scar... his daily reminder of that terrible day when he was forced to fight his father...

He felt Katara place her hand on his scar and he waited, but before she could do anything at all the wall burst open and in came Aang and Iroh, Aang running up to Katara and hugging her. When Zuko's eyes landed on the avatar old feelings he'd almost forgotten woke up again, and for a moment he thought of attacking. But Iroh was running up and embracing him before he could do anything, which was probably a good thing.

"Uncle," cried Zuko. "I don't understand. What are you doing with the avatar?!"

"Saving you, that's what," Aang shot back. Zuko lunged at him, but Iroh held him back and stopped him.

"Go find your friends," he told Aang and Katara, and they left. "It's time we talked," said Iroh, facing his angered nephew.

"Why, uncle..." said Zuko, his voice going from angry to sad.

"You are not the man you used to be, Zuko," said Iroh. "You are stronger and wiser and free-er than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good." Zuko lowered his head, the internal war that he'd been free of for a while now, reawakening inside of him and driving him mad.

Behind him the wall blasted open, and he jumped around. The crystals at his feet shot up and engulfed themselves around his uncle, pinning him so he couldn't move. Zuko barely had time to react, and in stepped his sister, carrying the same evil smile she always wore with her everywhere.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle," she said approaching them. "But Zuko! PRINCE Zuko! You're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor... are you?" Zuko's eyes darkened.

"Release him immediatly!" he demanded.

"It's not too late for you, Zuko. You can still redeem yourself."

"Zuko!" shouted his uncle from behind. "The kind of redemption she offers is not for you!" Already the war inside of him was intense, but having it move from inside to the outside of him was almost over bearing. He could almost feel himself becoming nauseus again. He remembered his dream when he had been ill, and the two dragons telling him to do two opposite things. Now he realized the dragons were Azula and Iroh. But deciding which one to listen to was making his brain hurt.

"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle!" snapped Azula. Her face turned to pleading and she looked at her brother. "I need you, Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win, is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have Father's love! You will have everything you want."

She knew just what to say, and Zuko knew it. Every thing he had spent the last few years fighting for now seemed to be within reach, and she promised she could provide it. Honor, royalty, and at last his father's love. The last of the three was something he'd been fighting for his whole life, and he knew he wanted it almost more than anything.

"Zuko," pleaded his uncle. "I'm begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is you truly want." Zuko closed his eyes and lowered his head. This was too much too soon. He wanted things to be easy again. He wanted to make it all stop and go back to the way it had been a few days ago when the Jasmine Dragon had opened and everything was going fine, when he had Jin, a life, and his loving uncle. And now that things had become hard again, he didn't know how to handle it.

"You are free to choose," Azula said patiently, and with that she left along with the earth benders who had entrapped Iroh.  
----

Aang and Katara stood facing Azula who now stood in the middle of them, a good five feet away, deciding whom she needed to attack first. They stood in fighting positions, ready to attack at any moment, but a blast of fire shot out and caused them to jump back. As the flames cleared, Zuko stepped out and faced all three of them. He took two steps towards the avatar, his hands pointed at Azula, ready to strike her. For a moment, Aang and Katara believed he was going to fight with them, but when he suddenly turned his aim towards Aang, Aang leapt into action, dodging the blast of fire.

A battle then raged on, Azula and Zuko against Aang and Katara. At one point Zuko had Katara and they were fighting each other in a furious battle, water against fire. "I thought you had changed!" shouted Katara.

"I have changed!" Zuko shouted back, and he delivered a blast at her, which she dodged. The fighting became more intense, and soon the Dai Li went after Katara, leaving Aang to Azula and Zuko, and a good portion of the Dai Li. Aang stared at them, his clothing torn and his face covered in dirt and sweat. Zuko stared at the young boy, ready to fight him, knowing at last he had him.

Aang looked around, his eyes slowly filling with fear, and finally he lowered his head, muttering something under his breath that sounded like "I'm sorry Katara," and conjured up the crystals beneath him, encasing him in a protective dome. Zuko stared for a while, not sure what to expect, and slowly a glow emerge from inside the crystals, which grew brighter and brighter. Zuko lowered his arms and took a step back, becoming worried. The crystals blew open and Aang emerged, his eyes and tattoos glowing brightly. He was in the avatar state.

Azula wasted no time. She delivered a blast of lighting which struck Aang before he could react at all, and the glow vanished altogether. He fell to the ground, appearing to be lifeless. A large tidal wave swept through, knocking all of them off their feet, and when the water lowered Katara was standing there, holding Aang's body in her arms. Slowly the Dai Li, Zuko, and Azula moved in, ready to attack her, but a blast of fire stopped them, and Zuko looked up to see his uncle, jumping down to Katara's aid, holding back the Dai Li as best as he could. "You've got to get out of here!" he shouted to Katara. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

Katara did not need to be told twice. She quickly escaped with Aang, and when they were gone, Iroh immediatly surrendered, allowing the Dai Li to take him captive. Zuko stared at his uncle, who looked away from him, making Zuko's heart sink. He had done a lot of things to hurt his uncle in the past, but as he watched the Dai Li take him away as a prisoner, he knew he'd gone too far and possibly beyond forgiving. He realized in those moments he'd lost what he really needed to gain what he didn't need. He'd lost his uncle, his chance for a new life... and he'd lost Jin. As all this sank in, he couldn't answer himself honestly if he thought it was really worth it.  
----

(A/N: I know this chapter was basically everything that happened in this episode, but I promise the next chapter will have more original, and we'll see Jin again.)


	8. Chapter 8

(A/N: This chapter was actually started yesterday, at least a part of it was anyway in church during a sermon (I work at the sound desk behind a computer so...), so I hope you're happy! I've ruined any chances I have of getting into Heaven, just to update! Naw, I'm only kidding. On with the story.) 

Jin sat in the darkness waiting, her heart hammering like a drum. Behind her, her brother sat with his hands on her shoulders, both to let her know he was in there with her and to feel support from her. When their mother had called for them to hide, they both had scrambled into the hidden storage room underneath the floor, and sat in silence, barely staring up through the cracks to watch. Their father, who was an earth bender, had made the walls come together, making the room look like it ended a foot before the trap door, so the Dai Li would not find it. The hideaway was too small to fit more than 2 people, so only Jin and her brother could hide, leaving their parents to face the Dai Li.

Everything had happened so fast. They were getting ready for her brother's birthday party when her father had burst in the door, demanding to know where her mother was. When he found her, they talked for 2 minutes at the most, and their mother rushed in, telling them they needed to hide. "What's happening?" asked Jin, but her brother ushered her into the trap door. And now she sat there, not knowing what was happening and having nothing to give her comfort but her brother's hands on her shoulders.

The Dai Li barged in and Jin jumped, her brother clinging on to her tighter. Through the cracks she could see her father standing firm while her mother stood behind him, trying to mask over her fear. "By the order of the Dai Li," said the leader. "All earthbenders in this family are to come with us." Jin felt her heart drop. Both her father and brother were earth benders.

"I'm afraid I must refuse that offer," said her father.

"It is no offer," said the leader darkly. "Either you come with us willingly or we take you by force." Jin's heart was beating harder by the minute. Nothing that was happening made any sense. She had thought the Dai Li were on her side. Why were they doing this? There came a crash, and both her parents moved to where neither she, nor her brother could see them. They could hear her father fighting and their mother shouting. Jin began to shake and her brother wrapped his arms around her to help calm her.

Soon they heard the sounds of their mother and father both being dragged out, their father for being an earthbender, and their mother for fighting against the Dai Li. Her mother would be imprisoned, but they didn't know what would happen to their father. Tears rolled down Jin's face and they waited helplessly until the Dai Li left with their parents. Her brother was the first to exit, telling her to wait until it was safe. He stepped out slowly and wandered around, parting the protective wall their father had created. He walked around for a while, Jin watching from below in terror, the suspense killing her inside. After a minute he walked over, heading to the trap door to tell Jin it was safe.

Taking a deep breath she turned to crawl out, but a crash made her stop, and she looked up to see her brother had stopped, and was now in a fighting stance, facing someone in the shadows. It was one of the Dai Li, and he had hidden himself knowing there was still another earthbender in there. Jin held back a scream and watch as her brother was forced out the door, fighting to get free. When the door slammed, Jin stayed put, not trusting the silence now.

She waited for nearly an hour, her heart gradually going down to its regular rhythm, and slowly, shaking terribly, she crawled out and walked out int the dark empty house. Everything was silent. Nothing moved, nothing breathed, only her. Her body was shaking badly and she felt so alone and frightened. Something was very wrong, and she had no idea what was going on.

Finding the strength to move forward, she stepped outside and looked around. Families were sobbing, houses torn open by the Dai Li who had come to take their loved ones if they could earthbend. "Why are they doing this?" she asked, hoping someone would answer her.

"You didn't hear?" asked a lady, clutching her crying child. "The fire nation have taken over the Earth King's palace! The city's been invaded!" Jin's jaw dropped and suddenly something occured to her. Lee and his uncle were supposed to be serving tea in that palace! Not hesitating she took off running, speeding past wandering villagers and crying children.  
----

Zuko followed Azula into the palace, listening to the angry shouts of the people, watching as their city was being taken over. Azula ignored them, knowing they weren't worth her while, and Zuko's head was too busy, filled with confusion and guilt over what had happened over the course of the last few hours.

Through the crowds though, and through the turmoil in his mind, he could still hear the shouts of a young lady, running through the crowds. "Lee! Lee!" Zuko stopped and looked out, seeing Jin trying to get through the people. She made her way through and came up to him, grabbing on to his arm.

"Thank goodness, Lee! I was so scared!" she cried, tears now flowing freely down her face. Zuko could only stare. "Why are they doing this?"

"You there!" shouted Azula, turning around and spotting her. "Stand aside!"

Jin looked up confused and Zuko gently slipped out of Jin's grasp. That's when she realized he was being arrested too for being an earthbender. He had to be, it only made sense. Jin stepped away, knowing he didn't want her arrested as well, and she watched them walk away and into the palace.  
----

"So, who was that, Lee?" asked Azula in a taunting manner.

"No one," muttered Zuko. Her eyes had been so sad, he couldn't forget that. He could only imagine what they'd look like when they learned the truth.

"No one? I seriously doubt that," said Azula, and they walked into the throne room. She paced around a little with a smile on her face, then turned to her brother. "We've done it, Zuko. It's taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se!"

"I betrayed uncle," he said, turning from her and staring at the floor. The guilt was almost overbearing.

"No, he betrayed you," she said coldly and he glanced up at her. "Zuko, when you return home, Father will welcome you as a war hero." He looked away again.

"But I don't have the avatar," he pointed out. "What if Father doesn't restore my honor?"

"He doesn't need to, Zuko," said Azula, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Today, you restored your own honor." Zuko looked her in the eye, wanting to believe it had been worth it, but a large part of him was telling him the opposite, and he turned from her and walked away, not caring if he got lost in the palace.  
----

It was midnight and Iroh was locked away in a cold dark cell. He hadn't fought any of the guards or tried to break free, but just sat there in the darkness, wondering what his nephew was doing now. He had been so hopeful that Zuko would finally turn, but his desire for his father's acceptance was stronger than his desire to do the right thing, and it seemed the only way Zuko would learn now was the hard way.

He wasn't angry with him. Instead he felt bad for him, knowing the boy was headed into a world of hurt and anger if he stayed on the path he was on. But even so, there was still hope for Zuko, and Iroh swore as long as he lived, he would not give up on him.

The lock on the door clicked and he looked up to see it slowly get opened, secretly dreading what may be coming, but remaining calm none the less. When the door opened and he saw who was standing there, he sank back, staring up at his nephew, who looked back at him with eyes filled with pain. "To what do I owe this honor," said Iroh darkly, letting Zuko know he was still disappointed in him.

"It's time I set some things right," said Zuko. "Come one, we haven't got much time." Iroh stood up and followed him quietly.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Quiet!" snapped Zuko. "If Azula hears, we're both dead." He lead him to the far back of the prison and to the back door which was covered by many locks. "I'm getting you out of here, Uncle." He reached foward and unlocked Iroh's shackles from his wrists and proceeded to unlock the back door.

"What about you?" asked Iroh. "You're coming with me."

"I can't," said Zuko. He got the door unlocked and opened it. "I haven't decided, Uncle. I haven't decided what's more important to me. But letting you rot in here is not something I'm going to do."

"They'll know you did it," said Iroh.

"I'll stage a breakout and hopefully talk Azula out of hunting you down, but I can't promise anything. Just promise me you'll get yourself as far away from Ba Sing Se as you can."

"I'll try my best. Zuko, whatever decision you make, make it fast. You're running out of time, Nephew." Zuko lowered his head and nodded, and Iroh slipped out.

"Uncle!" Zuko called, and Iroh turned. "Don't tell Jin."  
-  
(A/N: I may update again today, but I can't promise anything.)


	9. Chapter 9

(A/N: What a night! Roughest night of my life! Got dumped by one guy, hit on by another who has apparently been crushing on me since halfway through last year -a guy I like but know I shouldn't date-, got photographs from an ex who has gotten unbelievably hot over the years -thanks for the reminder, mom-, and to top it all off it was my uncle's birthday and he died 3 summers ago, soon to be 4, or AIDS. He would have been 44. So yesterday was rough. But in the words of a good friend of mine, "Better days lye ahead! uh... I think I spelled something wrong..." He's an inspiration, I tell ya. Well, enough chit-chat.) 

Jin walked down the dark street, the tears falling down her face without stop. She needed to sleep. She needed to lay down and forget about what was happening just for a little while. Figuring out what to do about Lee, and her family would come in time, but not while she was a wreck. The thought of walking into an empty house made her feel even worse inside having always been near her family, but she had to survive. For her loved ones in prison, she had to survive, even if just for tonight.

She practically stumbled through her doorway, her heart heavy with sorrow and exhaustion, and once inside she went strait to her bedroom, not bothering to change into some night clothes, and fell asleep on her bed instantly, allowing the darkness to engulf her body as she drifted into a gentle coma.  
----

Zuko say in his room, staring out the window. Truthfully it wasn't his room at all, it was the Earth King's room, for this was rightfully his palace, but it had now been taken over by the Fire Nation, and Zuko had taken claim of this room for himself. He stared out the window. There were no stars out tonight... and even the moon seemed to be hidden. Everything was dark. Very dark. Even knowing that his uncle had escaped safely didn't bring him a shred of comfort. It didn't erase the fact that he'd betrayed him, despite what Azula said. And the look his uncle had given him was one he would never forget.

He thought of his father and wondered how he'd react when he learned Ba Sing Se was finally the Fire Nation's. Would he be happy with him? After all these years of being a disappointment, would his father finally appreciate him? Would he love him? Zuko could only hope he would, and he clung to that hope because it was the only thing he could hope for now. That was the only thing that mattered now.

Azula had taken no time in getting an army ready. She had the Dai Li gathering up all the earthbenders in Ba Sing Se by force, and had imprisoned several villagers who had fought back. The earthbenders were strong, but not like firebenders, Azula had mentioned several times. There had already been an attempted outbreak, and Azula ordered all the attempters to be executed, a punishment even he thought was too harsh, but it had already been carried out, scaring the other prisoners out of trying to escape.

Zuko sighed and looked at the floor. He didn't want to think of Azula right now. He still didn't trust her, which made him wonder why he had listened to her, and even if she was on his side now, it didn't take back all the hateful things she had done throughout the years, even before he had been banished.

Jin's face flashed through his mind and he closed his eyes. Her sad eyes still haunted him, but at least she didn't know yet. If she knew... he couldn't even imagine how heart broken she would have been. She had started to really fall for him and he knew it. And he knew his feelings for her had grown a lot too, but right now it was not meant to be.

As much as he may have wanted her, it wasn't meant to be.

"I'm sorry, Jin," he said to the sky, hoping it would carry his message to her.  
----

The next morning Jin woke with the sun on her face, and she took slight comfort in it, getting to her feet slowly. Then she remembered the day before and the sliver of joy she had felt vanished. She went into the kitchen to find something to eat, but nothing look good. Her appetite was shot, and she probably wouldn't be able to even choke anything down.

There came a knock at her door and her heart froze. Fearing it was one of the Dai Li she hesitated. They had taken her family from her, and Lee. What more could they take? Realizing this brought a wave of depression over her, and rather than deciding to fight she decided she'd surrender, knowing she'd probably be rejoined with them... either in the prison... or in death, whichever they had reached.

She walked over, her face devoid of all emotion, and she opened the door, her eyes widening in surprise when she spotted a little old man, staring up at her with friendly eyes. It was Iroh. "You?" she asked. Now that she thought about it... he had never given her his name, so she stood there speechless, unable to address him. "How did you know where I live?" she asked.

"My nephew told me," he said kindly. She forced a small sad smile.

"How can I help you, sir?" she asked, regretting not knowing his name now.

"Well, it appears my home has been taken from me by the Dai Li, and I have nowhere to stay. I hope I'm not imposing if I asked to stay with you?" She smiled, greatful she would not need to be alone now and nodded, opening the door wider so he could get in.

"Of course," she said.

"You're family doesn't mind?" he asked, stepping in. Her eyes lowered to the floor, and as hard as she tried, tears overwhelmed them.

"They're not here..." she muttered, her voice breaking. "The Dai Li took them away from me... I'm alone..." Iroh's face turned to sympathy, though secretly he had known that. He had really come because he couldn't leave his nephew, despite the choices he'd made, and he knew Jin would need looking after now. Ba Sing Se was no place for a girl her age to live alone,  
especially now.

"You need some tea then," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder, and with that he headed straight for the kitchen, brewing up a pot.

She sat down at the table, wiping away the endless flow of tears, and after a few moments, Iroh handed her a handkerchief. "Here," he said. "There's no sin in shedding tears over your loved ones. It's a great part of healing, and it makes you stronger." She smiled a little at that, but still fought to keep her tears under control.

He poured her the cup of tea and handed it to her, and she sipped it the moment she got it, ignoring how hot it was and how it burned her mouth. She needed another sensation right now other than depression. Iroh sat across form her with his own cup and took a few sips with her. "It does help to calm the spirits," he muttered. "When made right that is," he added quickly, remembering Zuko's many failed attempts.

"I need all the calm I can get right now," she muttered, rubbing her eyes. Even though she knew she had slept, she still felt like she hadn't even shut her eyes once. She was so tired... nearly exhausted. "Thankyou," she said after a few moments of silence. "I was so scared to live alone... I really need someone to be around now more than ever."

Iroh smiled at her kindly and nodded. "It's really no trouble. And I should be thanking you for providing me with a home. I hope I won't overstay my welcome."

"Stay as long as you like. It's much better than the silence." She shuddered, remembering that dark silence that had overtaken the house after her family had been taken, and she felt the tears form but held them back. "By the way, I'm sorry about your nephew." Iroh looked up at her in surprise, wondering what she knew. "I saw them take Lee away last night. It must be hard." Iroh lowered his head a little. "I still have hope though that the people here who are left behind... that we'll find a way to get them all free."

Iroh looked up at her, knowing she thought 'Lee' was just a prisoner, but had no idea who he really was. He thought of what would happen to him if she went after him... the pain she'd feel if she found out he was now part of the group who had ruined her life. He couldn't let that happen. She'd been through enough pain right now. "Jin," he said softly, knowing what he was about to do would be hard but necessary. "Lee... won't be coming back." Jin lowered her cup.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her face starting to go pale.

Iroh sighed and looked down. "A few of the prisoners tried to break out and he was one of them. The Dai Li killed all those who attempted it. All of them." Jin dropped her cup and it spilled all over the table, falling into her lap and burning her. "Lee is dead."

Iroh stood up and grabbed a cloth to clean up the mess, and once it was clear, Jin dropped her head on the table, running her fingers into her hair then using them to clamp down and press her face in further, her arms hiding her face. She sobbed, her whole body moving with tears, and Iroh put an arm around her to comfort her. Looking at the floor he knew part of what he'd said had been true. He had heard of the attempted outbreak as well as most of the village. But he also knew that the Lee Jin knew was dead, and if she saw him now, she would not even recognize him.

She jumped up and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her, and through the hall he could hear her loud sobs, which continued for over an hour until she fell asleep, exhausted with sorrow. Iroh checked in on her when he heard the crying stop. She lay sound asleep, trears dried to her face and her eyes all puffy. He picked up a blanket and placed it over her to keep her warm and sighed. He had only done it to protect her, and he knew it was for the best.  
----

It was late at night before Jin woke up, and it took all her strength to sit up. Her heart felt like it was weighing her down now, the loss of Lee still so fresh and raw in her mind. Through the crack in the door she could see a light and she got up, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders as she stepped out into the common room where Iroh now sat by the fire.

She walked over and sat down next to him, unable to say anything. "Did to sleep well?" asked Iroh after a moment of silence. She nodded. "The pain will fade with time, he assured her. It never fully leaves, but it doesn't remain strong either."

"My family..." she muttered, afraid to ask. "They didn't...?"

"No, they weren't," he assured her. "They're still alive." She breathed with relief and looked at him.

"Thankyou again," she whispered. "You have no idea how much I need you right now." He smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder.

"Not nearly as much as you need some tea right now," he said. He stood up, grunting as his old joints ached with pain. "You sit there and rest. I'll go get it." She nodded and sat quietly as he left.

The stars were shining brightly that night, and she glanced up at the window. Remembering her mother's words, she looked around, trying to find the one that would shine the brightest... looking for Lee. She strained her eyes, but as hard as she tried she couldn't find it.

Her heart sank, her mother's words no longer bringing her comfort and she turned her attention back to the fire until Iroh came back with a cup of jasmine tea.

----

(A/N: If you listen to Evanescence's "Your Star," it adds to this I think.)


	10. Chapter 10

(A/N: So here's the scoop. I wanna make another video for this fic with quotes in it from the fic and the of course pics from the show. But I'm having trouble picking a fitting song. Now, knowing that the over all theme in this fic is fighting for love even in the darkest of situations (if you haven't figured that out yet then I'm sorry about the spoiler) I have a few songs I'm debating over, but I need a final decision and input from you would be nice. The songs of debating over are "Empty Corridors," by Luke Pickett (if you haven't heard this song go to myspace(dot)com(/)lukepickett –you don't need an account with myspace to view his profile- and it's the last song on the list if you scroll down. I'm also looking at "Lips of an Angel," by Hinder, "9 Crimes," by Damien Rice –you can check out the music video on youtube if you've never heard the song, but I won't lie, the music video is rather odd-, "The Freshmen," by the Verve Pipe, "Anywhere," by Evanescence –don't know where you could listen to the song but at least check out the lyrics-, or "Flames," by Vast –again, don't know where you could hear this song but at least check the lyrics out-. If you have any better songs you may like instead, let me know (anything BUT "The Reason," by Hoobastank), otherwise cast a vote for one of these. Any help is much appreciated. I already have to fix the video I already posted cuz the link at the end is a dud, so I figured I'd just make a new one. So please, input! Gracias!) 

Jin sat alone in her room. It was almost midnight and she felt very alone now. She and Iroh had hardly spoken, but the words he did offer her were slightly comforting, despite the heavy feeling of loss that overwhelmed her. She was still staring helplessly at the stars, looking for Zuko's star. He had to be out there somewhere, she knew he had to. He had cared about her, he had to be looking down at her. She strained her eyes, searching all over the sky, but every star looked normal, none of them shining brighter than the other. Behind her the door opened and Iroh stepped in.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked gently.

"No," she answered, normally ending that line with 'I'm fine, thanks,' but she couldn't even lie about that. He stepped in and looked out the window with her.

"May I as what you're looking for?" he said, noticing her eyes still straining at the night sky.

"I can't find his star," she said softly. "Lee's star. My mother told me when someone dies they end up with the stars, and they look down at you from them." She lowered her head. "I don't see him anywhere."

Iroh frowned and looked out. "Well, the stars change patterns with the months. Perhaps his isn't out there this month?"

"Perhaps," she sighed, standing up. "I'm going to bed." She crossed the room, then stopped, realizing she hadn't told him where he could sleep. "You can take my parent's room," she said softly. "It's right across the hall." He nodded and left quietly.

Jin laid herself down on her pillow, no tears coming now. She'd cried them all out and now had run herself dry. Closing her eyes she lay still as death, waiting for sleep to come, trying to forget just for a while all the pain she was feeling.

----

(A/N: Not to go into songfic mode here, but this song is fitting for this part. It's by Corinna Fugate and it's one of my faves. It's called "Wake." I've only used parts of it)

(Here in my room I lay and dream of you...)

Jin looked up and Lee was standing right there, smiling at her. His arms reached out to her and she crawled into them, barely having the strength to stand.

(Your lips are warm and your hands are in mine...)

Tears fell down her face as she clung to him, and he ran his fingers through her hair, making her feel comforted, just knowing he was there with her and she was safe. It was was if he hadn't died at all.

(And we're walking through a moment in time...)

"Lee," she whispered, her voice cracking terribly. He just held her closer, knowing it was what she wanted... what she needed.

"It's all right," he whispered in her ear. "Hold on, Jin. Just hold on."

She rested her head against his chest, now knowing she was dreaming, and lay there, holding on to him till she felt herself slowly being pulled out of it.

"Why did this happen?" she asked, and he didn't answer. "Why, Lee?"

She looked into his eyes and there was pain there, deep pain as if he were hiding something deep inside him, something he couldn't even tell her. He began to fade away from her and she fell herself fall where he had been and landed on the ground.

(But then I wake...)

She opened her eyes again, and this time she was really in her room, alone in the dark. But she didn't feel alone, not entirely.

Somewhere deep in the Earth King's palace, a young man sat up suddenly, almost as if he had been jerked out of his dream and he looked around, panting heavily. He looked out the window and placed his hand on his chest, right where her head had been, and then closed his eyes in sadness,  
longing to bring that moment back, even if it had been a dream.

(Oh... then I wake...

To wake is to break...)

----

Jin looked a lot chipper the next morning, though a hint of sadness still clung to her face. Iroh doubted that would leave anytime soon. She walked into the kitchen and her jaw dropped when she saw him at the stove. "You made breakfast?" she cried, smiling.

"It's the least I could do," he said with a grin. "It's not quite ready yet though."

"You didn't have to..." she started to say, but couldn't finish. "Thankyou." He nodded and she took a seat at the table.

"You seem to be doing better," he said to her.

"A little," she answered with a sigh. "I know moping all day won't solve anything. My parent's wouldn't want that."

"Nor would I," said Iroh. "Would you like some tea with your breakfast?" She nodded, knowing he'd make some anyway.

"Are you going to re-open the Jasmine Dragon soon?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I can't, I'm afraid," he answered her. "There's a warrant out for my arrest, and if I re-opened they'd arrest me for sure." She nodded, giving him a sympathetic glance.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's only one dream I have to let go of. Others will come."

"I admire you for being positive," she commented as he placed her breakfast in front of her, along with her tea. "Especially with things being as they are. I'm trying to, but it's so hard. I don't know how you do it." She took a mouthful, groaning when the wonderful taste filled her mouth, and quickly chewed it so she could eat some more. Her appetite was back and in full force.

"A cup of tea everyday is good for the soul," he said, chuckling a little. "It keeps the body calm and the mind focused."

"I still wish I knew what to do," she said, sipping her tea. "I feel bad just sitting here while my family is in jail."

"Don't worry about it now. When the time is right, opportunities will present themselves. And I doubt the avatar will abandon the city this way."

"So he was here," she said. "Have you ever seen him?"

Iroh recounted the many encounters and smiled. "I have," he answered.

"What's he like?"

"The way you'd expect a young boy to be," he answered. "Only weighted down with the burden of being who he is."

"I can't imagine," she said softly.

"It's quite a weight," said Iroh, nodding. "But he's been learning how to bear it, and he's handled it well so far."

"I hope he comes back. If he does, I'll be fighting by his side to free my family. This city has been safe and secure for years until now. I won't just sit here while the Fire Nation destroys it." Iroh patted her hand.

"It'll happen in good time. You're a strong girl. I doubt you'll be giving up without a fight." She smiled, taking in that complement, and went back to eating.

----

At nightfall Jin decided to venture out briefly. There was something she needed to do, and it would be the only way she'd be able to finally heal, which was something she knew she needed to do quickly. Iroh glanced up as she crossed the common room. "I'm going for a walk," she said softly. "I won't be long." He nodded and she left, stepping outside into the night.

The people were all inside their houses except for a few who wandered around, picking up some last minute groceries. Being out here this late would be dangerous, she knew that, but it was a risk she was willing to take, and from the looks of things, no one would give her any troubles, be they Fire Nation of members of the Dai Li. She walked out to the hill where she and Lee had sat to watch the fire works and kneeled down, looking up at the sky and the stars above. She had no incense, no picture to set up of him, but even so, she knew this would be her chance to finally let go and let him rest in piece rather than haunt her.

She closed her eyes and reflected, remembering the mop and broom war in the tea shop, their awkward first date, and their first kiss. She remembered the look on his face the night before... when he told her how he knew something bad would happen. She wished she had listened better, but it was too late now, and no sad longings would bring him back. She stared at the stars and whispered, quoting the lines from a song her mother had sung when her brother had died, "It's not the body that keeps you alive, It's the soul burning inside you..." her voice drifted and she allowed herself to shed one last tear, knowing any weakness from hear on would hold her back. "And there is no death," she whispered. "It isn't real... Can't you still feel me with you? Can't you feel?"

She turned her eyes to the Heavens, knowing he'd be there, looking down at her, not wanting her to be so sad. "Rest in piece, Lee," she whispered, and smiled, feeling as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Standing up, knowing tonight she'd be able so sleep peacefully, she headed back. The pain was not fully gone, and she knew it never would be, but for now, even if it was just for this moment, it was a little easier to bear, and she knew she'd be able to face the day with the stregnth she'd been lacking.  
----

(A/N: Those words Jin said at the end were from "Boy of Sky," by Corinna Fugate -I wanted them in there somewhere because they've stuck with me through my uncle's death, and the deaths of other family members I've lost. Remember to please leave input on which song I should use, and always R&R! Cheers!)


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry about the screw up with 'piece' and 'peace' and other screw ups I know I must've made. My brain just isn't working, I swear! I still need song input! I'm planning to put the video together Saturday and have it up either Saturday night or Sunday, so you have until then if you have any input, otherwise you're left to the mercy of me! Mwa! HAHAHA!!! COUGH  
HAAACK! Yeah... So, on we go and thanks for the reviews and the on going patience with me an my typos! Not having spell check sucks more than you know!) 

Zuko arose early the next morning, unable to lay in bed a moment longer. He was tired of sleeping to get away from his troubles, and he knew the only thing he could do now was ignore them, knowing they would leave soon. He had gotten his uncle out of prison safely, and for now that was really all he could do. Any thoughts of Jin were pressed as far away from his mind as they could be, and he kept his focus on what was happening now, not what would have happened had things gone differently.

He noticed his hair had grown a little too shaggy, and soon it would be covering his eyes. For a moment, he actually debated going back to his old hairstyle and pulling it back into a ponytail. It was too short for that now, but maybe when it had grown out a little more. "Zuzu..." came a voice and he cringed at the use of that old hated nickname. He never really knew why he had hated it so much... probably because she had come up with it. He had spent years trying to come up with an equally annoying one for her, but couldn't ever really think of anything.

"Don't call me that," he grumbled, turning around to see Azula standing there, holding a rolled up parchment in her hands. "What's that?" he asked.

"A letter from home," she answered, and then with a smile she added, "A letter from Father." Zuko's heart froze. He had been waiting the last few days to hear back from his father, to find out if he was pleased with the invasion, and most importantly, to find out if he was finally pleased with him.

"What does it say?" asked Zuko, unable to hide his anxiety. He was near breaking out into a sweat over it. He was so nervous and filled with anticipation. Azula opened it and read it silently, then looked up at him.

"He's impressed," she said, and Zuko felt a ray of hope enter inside of him. Feeling hope at all had almost become foreign to him. "He wants us to report home... both of us." She tossed him the letter for him to read if he didn't believe her. "You're no longer banished, Zuko."

She left him there, and he read the letter again and again, finding it really did say what Azula had said. For once, she wasn't lying. This letter was almost priceless to him. It represented his freedom, and his honor, both of them fully restored now. And it was now his ticket home... a place he'd been dying to go for so long now. For the first time in days he was overwhelmed with joy, and for the first time, everything, the betrayal, abandoning the life he'd made here, everything had become worth it now. He had his honor, and his father's love. Everything was worth it.

He rolled up the letter and set it down, staring at it for a long time. It had been worth it, his mind repeated for the third time. Outside the people were struggling to pick up the pieces of their lives, lives he had helped tear apart, but it had been worth it. His heart sank a little. His uncle was now wandering around, God only know where, but it had been worth it. Jin had probably waited for hours at that fountain the night he was supposed to meet her, and now she was probably heart broken, but it had been worth it.

Zuko looked down and his heart sank further. It had been worth it.

It had been worth it.

He closed his eyes and repeated it again and again in his mind, then opened them and stared at the letter. Staring at it now it only looked like a rolled up piece of parchment with only words inside. Words. Everything he'd done, he'd done just to receive those words... but they were only words... His brain attempted to repeat again, 'It was worth it...' but his heart had sunken far enough that he was doubting it severely.

He opened his mouth, hoping that saying it aloud would help, but the words that came out were not the ones he wanted. Instead of 'it was worth it' what came out, clear as day, was, "Azula always lies."  
----

Jin was at a shop buying fruit when there came a shout from someone running in the street, and she turned, wondering what the commotion was about. It was a young man, half skipping as he ran, with a large smile on his face. "They're leaving!" he shouted. "They're leaving!"

"What's happening?" shouted someone in confusion.

"What is he shouting about?" shouted someone else.

"Who's leaving?"

The man looked at the crow of curious people and said with a smile. "I just heard word, the prince and princess of the Fire Nation are leaving!" There were cries of astonishment and a few shouts of joy. Jin smiled, knowing that at least was some good news. But that still left the city under the control of the Dai Li, who had seemed to have kept themselves shut in that palace for some time now. Still, some good news was better than nothing, and picking up on the happiness of the rest of the crowd, Jin quickly paid for her food and headed back to her house to tell Lee's uncle the news.

As she ran home a thought crossed her mind. She hadn't even known the prince of the Fire Nation was there. She knew full well the princess, Azula, had been there, seeing as she was the one who helped start the invasion, but she hadn't heard until now that the prince was there as well. She didn't know his name, but she had heard a little about him and could have sworn he'd been banished, but she shrugged, knowing she could be wrong. It had been years since she had heard anything about him. She wondered if Lee's uncle would know, and decided to ask him later.

When she reached the door to her house she was nearly bursting with joy, and she dashed in, Iroh looking up in surprise. "Great news!" she cried. "The princess and the prince from the Fire Nation are leaving Ba Sing Se!" She was smiling widely, but Iroh merely stared at her with the same surprised expression. She went into the kitchen to put the fruit away, unable to stop smiling.

"How did you hear of this?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"The entire village is talking about it right now. I hope they're leaving tonight! We'll be doing a lot better once they're gone! Even if we're still under the control of the Dai Li, there's a little more hope now!" She stepped out into the common room where Iroh was sitting and sat down a few feet away from him. "You know... I don't remember them ever saying the prince had come here, do you?" He didn't answer her, but she didn't wait very long for a response anyway. "Doesn't matter. He's going and good riddance!"

Iroh lowered his eyes, so his nephew had finally found what he'd been looking for. But allowing Zuko to go home was still unusually forgiving considering Firelord Ozai's nature. He could only pray this was for real and not another trap. He knew very well Zuko had been put through enough because of his father. He didn't need anything more.

"Do you know anything about him?" asked Jin after a moment and Iroh glanced up at her, returning to his normal light hearted disposition.

"About who?" he asked.

"The prince," said Jin. "My mom told me a little about him once, but I don't remember."

Iroh shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know very much about him myself. Other than his name is Zuko."

"He's around my age though, isn't he?" Iroh nodded.

"I should think so."

"I'll bet he's as cold hearted as his father. That seems to run in the family," she muttered, remembering Azula shouting at her to step away from Lee when she had clung on to him.

A tiny stab of pain hit her, but she pushed it aside.

"Never judge anyone unless you know them personally," said Iroh. "There is enough bitterness and hatred in the world as it is, so don't waste your time creating more, especially over someone you haven't met." She was surprised to hear this response from him, part of her hoping he'd hate the Fire Nation as much as she did now, but still, what he said made sense, even if she hadn't expected it.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"No need to apologize," said Iroh with a smile. "You are young and still learning. One of the best lessons in life is learning how to spread more love and compassion rather than hate and violence." She smiled at him and nodded.

"I'll try to remember that," she said, getting to her feet. "But even so, I'm glad they're leaving our city. For once, the people have hope again." Iroh smiled at this and watched her walk away in the kitchen to make lunch. He knew that somewhere Zuko had hope again as well, and that was always a good thing. He prayed that his hopes wouldn't be shattered once he was reunited with his father.  
----

(A/N: So I said screw the angst for now and let's have a little happiness in this fic. And, since someone pointed it out and I really thank them for that, I was hoping to move on with the plot more, rather than linger on emotions. R&R, and remember, input deadline is Friday night! Saturday morning the movie will be started to be put together. And if it helps any, the song 'Empty Corridors' can be heard on Luke Pickett's myspace www(dot)myspace(dot)com(slash)LukePickett, it's the last song if you scroll down the list, and "Roses" can be heard on Girl Meet Girl's myspace www(dot)myspace(dot)com(slash)GirlMeetGirl and those guys have a very different sound I think. The rest, you'll either have to search around or as least look for lyrics.)


	12. Chapter 12

(A/N: Well I just got an emergency babysitting call, so I apologize if this chappie ends up being a bit short. And a final annoying reminder! You have until TONIGHT to give me song input. I'm thinking I may use a Within Temptation song, but we'll see. Tomorrow, after work, I'll be putting this together, and I've actually gotten a few Zuko clips I can work with, which makes me happy, but sadly none with him and Jin, so there'll still be photos and stuff. Well, here we go!) 

"Oh no!"

Jin came running in from the common room when she heard Iroh's shout, hoping it wasn't an emergency. "What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"We're out of tea leaves!" he cried, and she relaxed, using almost all her strength to refrain from rolling her eyes. Only he would make an issue like tea leaves sound like an emergency.

"I'll go buy some more now if you like," she offered kindly.

"I wouldn't want to make you go to the trouble," he said and she shrugged.

"Okay," she said, and turned to head back to the common room.

"I'll just sit here... wishing I had a good cup of tea to drink... missing the good savory taste... and the warmth..." he half whined. Now Jin rolled her eyes, unable to hold it back, and with a sigh she grabbed her bag.

"It's really no trouble," she mumbled sarcastically, and headed out the door.

"You're very kind, Jin," said Iroh with a grin as she walked out. Once she was outside with the door shut behind her she muttered, "You're as manipulative as a child!"  
----

Zuko was sitting on his bed, the dark cloud he had felt over a week ago seeming to hover over him again. Something didn't feel right, and he was afraid of what would happen once he was home. He'd been dying for years to return to his old life, to roam around the palace again and feel like royalty again.

"You ready yet, Prince Zuko?" called a servant, who was finishing gathering up both his and Azula's belongings for the trip. Zuko didn't have really anything he could take with him, only the clothes he'd worn when he'd come here, and they'd been tossed out a few days ago, being too dirty and worn out to wear. Everything else was at his and Iroh's apartment, but he had no desire to go there.

Looking up at the servant he said, "A few more minutes," and the servant nodded and left him alone. He picked up the letter which he'd kept up on his nightstand, reading it again and again as if he were waiting for the words to change or for some hidden message to come out, something that'd reveal he was walking into another trap. But the letter remained the same, and the message remained the same. And he knew it was his father's handwriting. Reaching up and fingering his scar, he nodded. He knew his father's handwriting well.

"Anytime this year, Zuko?" called Azula impatiently. "Father won't like to be kept waiting."

Standing up he nodded and tucked the letter away in a bag, and taking one last look around the room, he headed out with her, ready to leave and finally return home. Outside, just as he'd half expected, there were crowds of people, standing and shouting at them as they were escorted away safely, guards and the Dai Li forming a protective barrier around them. He was used to being hated, but now he didn't care. He was going home, and that was all that mattered.  
----

Jin was paying for the tea leaves when Iroh was suddenly next to her, making her jump. "What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed.

"Just making sure you bought the right kind," he said. He picked up the bag and sniffed it, then inspected its contents.

"There's only one kind here," she pointed out, but she already knew that wouldn't matter to him. With a nod, he set the bag down and let her finish paying for it and put it away. Behind them, a scattered crowd ran past, and they looked up in surprise. "What's going on?"

"Must be those two Fire Nation people are finally leaving," said the man she was buying from. "Heard a rumor that a crowd's going down there to yell and possibly throw things at them."

"A waste of time, if you ask me," said Iroh, but Jin turned and began to head in that direction. "Where are you going?"

"I wanna see them leave," she said. Iroh's eyes widened and he grabbed her wrist.

"That's really not a good idea-" he started to say, but she tugged free.

"It's not like I'm going to do anything stupid," she called as she ran off. Iroh knew what would happen if she saw them, if she finally saw the real 'Lee.' Knowing he had to stop her, he ran after her, but wasn't nearly quick enough to catch up with her. They came to a crowd, and to his relief Jin had to stop, not being able to barge her way through. Finally catching up with her, he grabbed on to her shoulder, but she jerked away.

"Jin, being here with this angry mob is not a wise decision!" he shouted over their cries. "You need to leave now!"

Jin looked at him confused. "What's wrong with you?" she asked. "I just want to watch! I'm not here to throw things at them."

"Just watching could be more harmful than you know," said Iroh. "We're going."

"I'm not!" she snapped and looked up when the crowds roars became louder, giving away that they were stepping out of the palace now. "There they are!" she shouted, pointing to the two figures being escorted out. The people around them shouted some very violent things at them, some of them spitting at them, others attempting to throw fruit at them, but were stopped by members of the Dai Li which were scattered about the crowd.

Iroh sighed and closed his eyes, knowing he couldn't stop Jin now, and turned to head back, knowing if he stayed, he'd more than likely get spotted and arrested. He didn't go away too far though, not wanting to abandon Jin, but he did step somewhere out of sight.

Jin watched as the two figures came closer, recognizing Azula's hateful face. Her brother trailed behind though, almost as if he didn't want to leave with her, but he was soon closer and Jin was able to get a good look at his face. With one glance... everything seemed to change. As she looked at his eyes, and recognized his scar her very heart seemed to stop beating. She took a step back, and then another, tears flooding her eyes. It couldn't be!

"Lee?" she called out, and he stopped in his tracks, his face running pale and his eyes widened in shock. Jin was mostly shocked that he'd heard her over the crowds, but when he turned and began to search for her, she knew he had heard her loud and clear.

Iroh heard her as well and, drawing up his hood, he ran out to her, knowing she still wasn't making the connection in her mind that Lee really wasn't who she had come to think he was. When he reached her, she was ready to run through the crowd to get to him, but he stopped her, restraining her with all of his strength. "No, Jin!" he said as she struggled against him.

"Let me go!" she shouted. "It's Lee! He's alive!" Tears were flowing down her face and she fought violently, wanting nothing more than to get to him.  
----

Zuko's heart had stopped when he heard that voice in the crowd, and he turned around, looking around for her. Jin was out there somewhere and he knew it. Looking around in frustration, he couldn't find her, but then his eyes landed toward the back of the crowd and he could see two people struggling, one of them trying to get to him and the other holding her back,  
his hood hiding his face.

"Jin!" he whispered and forgot about everything that was happening for a moment.  
----

"Jin, you don't understand," shouted Iroh. "That's not Lee!"

"Yes it is!" she screamed. "Look at him!"

"It's not the man you think he is! His name is not Lee. It's-"

"Zuko!" shouted Azula, who was now staring at him impatiently with her hands on her hips. Zuko snapped out of thought and looked back at Azula, who was staring at him in frustration. He looked back out at Jin and saw she had stopped fighting altogether but stood so very still now, staring at him with wide, confused and hurt, eyes. "Zuko, stop stalling! We're leaving now!"

He saw Jin collapse, and closed his eyes, the dark cloud engulfing his heart and mind, making him feel worse than he had before. Turning back to Azula, he followed her again silently, eyes focused on the ground as the shouts and cries of the angry villagers drowned out every other sound.  
----

When she had heard Azula shout out Zuko's name, it all came together in Jin's mind like a horrible jigsaw puzzle, all the black pieces fitting together perfectly. Now she didn't know what had been worse, finding out he was dead, or finding out he was the son of the Fire Lord and prince of the Fire Nation. Iroh had been right. He wasn't Lee at all, he never had been. Everything had been a lie. All of it.

She sank to her knees, no longer having the strength to stand, and behind her, Iroh forced her back up on her feet, quickly helping her get home. Gradually the screaming crowds grew quieter and quieter as they got away, and once they were safely in her house with the door shut, Jin stood in the common room, not knowing what to think or say.

"I'm sorry, Jin," said Iroh softly, knowing a lot of how she was feeling right now was his fault. He had lied to protect her, but now that the truth was out, all it had done was harm her.

"You lied to me..." she whispered.

"I did it to protect you," he tried to explain, but something inside of her snapped.

"You lied to me about EVERYTHING!" she screamed, and without warning went into a rage. She grabbed a near chair and threw it across the room with a shout. It crashed to the floor loudly and she went about the house throwing things, slamming doors and kicking walls, all to get the anger out of her system. Anger was all she felt now. Anger and hate. She was angry that she'd been lied to, she was angry that Lee was Zuko, and she was angry that she had let herself fall for someone like that, someone she knew very well she was meant to hate.

"Why?!" she screamed, turning to Iroh who was staring at the floor, sadness on his face. "Why would you do this to me?" Tears overwhelmed her eyes and she collapsed again, her anger quickly getting replaced with grief. "You said he was dead!" He didn't answer her. She looked up at him with tear stained eyes, another piece of the puzzle coming together in her mind. "Who are you? Are you really his uncle?"

Iroh was silent for a moment, then looked up at her. "My name is Iroh," he said. "I'm the brother of Firelord Ozai, and I am Zuko's and Azula's uncle." Jin stared at him, now feeling a bit of fear, knowing that she had a member of the Fire Nation standing in her house. "My nephew was banished years ago, and I've been with him every day of it, protecting him and looking out for him."

Jin stood up, her body shaking as she looked around, her eyes not even knowing where to go. "I can't believe this..." she hissed and then looked up at him.

"You must understand, Jin-" he tried to say.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed. "I don't want to hear anymore of your lies! I don't want to listen to you!" She turned and fled to her room, slamming the door loudly behind her and Iroh sighed looking down at the floor, trying to think of what needed to be done now. Chances were good Jin would throw him out of her house, now that she knew who he was. The best he could do now was start to plan on finding a new place to live, which more than likely meant leaving Ba Sing Se. But for now he waited, waited and prayed for the broken girl who was now sobbing loudly in her bedroom.  
----

"I thought you said she was no one," said Azula, walking over to Zuko. They were on a Fire Nation ship, heading home, and Zuko had shut himself away below deck, laying on a cot and not saying two words after he had spotted Jin standing in the crowd.

He glanced up at his sister, not entirely surprised to find him staring at him almost menacingly. "You can't make connections with anyone outside the Fire Nation, Zuko! You know better!" He rolled over, trying to ignore her. "What about your honor, Zuko? You're royalty? Everything you've been fighting for? Are you really going to throw it away over-"

"I said she was no one," said Zuko plainly, not a hint of emotion in his voice. "And she is no one."

"Even I'm not stupid enough to buy that," hissed Azula. "If you can give me your promise, however, that she won't become a problem for you, I see no reason why Father has to know."

"She's no one," said Zuko again. "She means nothing." Azula left him and he knew she still didn't believe him, and he knew that wasn't true either. But now Jin hated him, or at least she should hate him. How he felt about her now meant nothing, and he knew that after he had spotted her in the crowd, that would more than likely be the last time he'd ever see her again.

A tear escaped his eye, but he brushed it away before it could even fall an inch.  
----


	13. Chapter 13

(A/N: I apologize for the delay. I was out photographing a horse dressage event from 7am to 5pm all of Saturday and was dead tired and sick when I got home (I'm still sick), and last night I was finishing up the video which is now up on youtube and looking great, so I encourage you to check it out. It's my first one with actual moving clips so I'm very happy with it. I couldn't get quotes to fit in, but I had a cover I'd made for the fic appear at the beginning, links to the fic at the end, and the song choice was 'Cold,' by Crossfade, which I think is almost a perfect fit. So if you get a chance, go to youtube(dot)com(/)smeagolsgirl and it's the featured video on my profile.  
Well, here we go!) 

Jin remained shut away in her room for four days. She wouldn't eat, sleep, or speak at all. By the fourth day, Iroh began to worry. He had stayed in the house, not wanting to leave her now while she was hurting so badly, but was also prepared to be thrown out at any time. While he knew staying here to watch out for Jin was the right thing, he was torn between that and chasing after his nephew, whom he'd done nothing but worry about for the last four days.

On the night of the fourth day Iroh had decided enough was enough and opened the door to Jin's room. Part of him expected to find her half starved and unconscious on the floor, but she was sitting with her back against the wall, staring at her feet and seeming to be lost in thought. Her eyes were darkened and her hair was becoming quite ratty. Her head bent towards the floor mad it look as though her misery was chained to her neck and holding her down.

"Young Jin," he said softly, stepping towards her. "I think it's time you ate something. It's not healthy to just sit here and waste away." He waited for a response but received none. He even wondered if she had heard him. "Jin."

"I don't feel hungry," she muttered, not looking at him.

"You haven't eaten in four days!" cried Iroh. "You need to eat."

"I don't FEEL hungry," she repeated, now slowly looking up at him. "I don't feel anything! No hunger! No pain! No anger! Nothing!" She was shouting by the end and stopped, looking at the floor again. In a faint whisper she added, "Nothing but numb." Iroh frowned and the kneeled down so he was eye to eye with her.

"Now you listen to me, Jin," he said, almost all the comfort leaving from his voice. "You've been hurt badly, and I understand that. But how you're dealing with it is not going to make things any better. Shutting yourself away and starving yourself won't heal you. It'll kill you." She didn't look at him. "Letting pain control you will lead you down the path of destruction.  
It's time you found your strength and fought back."

"I don't even know how to fight anymore," she said, her voice cracking as tears filled her eyes.

"You've always known," said Iroh, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You may think you've forgotten it but it's still there, inside you. All you have to do is look for it inside of you."

Jin closed her eyes, two tears falling, and she felt herself reflecting on the last few weeks. Right now, her whole world had become pain, and the pain had grown so much that she couldn't feel it or anything else anymore. And the pain wasn't just over 'Lee'. It was over the pain of losing her family, her country, and her normal life all at once. She remembered the Dai Li barging in and taking her family from her, dragging her father out the door, fighting, her mother shouting, and her brother struggling. She remembered hiding under the floor, shaking in the dark, afraid to come out.

Iroh stared at her for a moment then tightened his grip on her shoulder. "They took away your family," he said. "They overran your city, and they took away the one you loved." She was shaking under his hand. "They took everything from you but your soul, Jin, and that is something no man can touch. And that is what you must hold on to now so you will not give up. You've come too far and grown too much to let go now." She looked up at him and shook her head.

"I didn't love him," she said, the tears falling. "I never loved him."

"You cared about him a lot, Jin," said Iroh. "And that's still as true now as it was when you thought his name was Lee." She lowered her head again. "Jin, I'm begging you, look inside yourself and decide, is all the hope really gone?"

She remembered running home that day with a smile on her face, announcing that the Fire Nation were leaving Ba Sing Se, and how hopeful she'd felt then. It had been like a fire burning brightly inside of her. A few sparks of it began to glow again as she realized the Fire Nation were still gone. She remembered the relief she felt when Iroh had told her that her family had not been part of the escape attempt in the prison and they were still alive. The sparks grew into a small flame as she realized that even though they'd been taken away from her, they were still very much alive and that hadn't changed either.

Her mind trailed on Iroh's words to her and she realized he was right. They had hurt her, taken almost everything away from her, but they hadn't killed her. And as long as there was life… there was hope. The tiny flame grew and burned brightly, though not as large and a bonfire, but significantly larger than before, and enough for her to start to find her strength again. She opened her eyes and looked up at Iroh as a few tears fell, but no more. He smiled at her and stood up, extending his hand to her to help pull her to her feet. She felt very dizzy when she was up, and just walking was the strangest sensation, feeling like she hadn't done it in years.

"What time is it?" she asked, brushing tears from her face and feeling slightly dazed.

"It's nightfall," said Iroh. "And it's been four days."

She looked around and then at him. "I'm starving," she muttered, placing a hand on her stomach and Iroh nodded with a smile. "Let's get you something to eat then… and a nice cup of tea"  
----

Zuko was woken up at the crack of dawn by the sounds of the commotion going on above deck. He lay still for a while, trying to figure out what exactly was going on and when he heard a voice say something about land ahead, he climbed out of bed and hurried outside to see for himself. It was still fairly dark out, but the sun had begun to rise, and not too far ahead he could see the crescent island coming closer. The last time he'd seen it, he'd been on his way to attempt to catch the avatar again, which had ended in yet another failure. That time his father didn't want him there and he'd been lucky not to have been killed. But this time was different. He was finally being welcomed back, and for the first time in years he'd be seeing his father again, and finally, after all these years, his father would not look at him as worthless.

"Ready to go home?" asked Azula, standing next to him. Zuko nodded, not taking his eyes off the island. "Enjoy this, Zuko. All of this is yours, and you've earned it."

He took in every word she said and tried his best to believe it. This was a new day, a new start, and finally things would be the way they should have been. Even so, he still felt a hint of fear at the thought of facing his father again. Welcomed back or not, his fear of his father never fully left but became permanent the day he received his scar.

They were on the island in a matter of hours, and soon both he and Azula stepped off and began the walk to the palace. The whole thing was haunting for Zuko. Everywhere he looked there was some memory he still had, both good and bad. When they reached the doors which opened to them, he felt his heart pounding wildly inside of him, a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time. His palms were sweaty, and his legs felt like water. Though he tried to ignore it, a part of his mind still wondered, 'What if this is a trap?'

They entered into the main hall, and they were stopped, Zuko feeling impatient as the Firelord was summoned. He glanced over at his sister who was staring strait ahead, seeming almost carefree. He looked ahead again and soon he could see his father arriving, emerging from the shadows to look at them. He was still as tall and powerful looking as Zuko remembered, but his face had aged some. His eyes were dark with hatred, and it made something inside him, Zuko, shiver. He'd almost forgotten what it had been like to look at his father in the eye.

He was silent for a moment, staring Zuko down, making Zuko almost feel like a cowering dog before him, and then he looked at Azula and smiled. "After years of trying, Ba Sing Se is finally ours," he said, his voice deep and rough. "I knew the Fire Nation could coun't on you, Azula." Zuko felt something flicker inside him, but Azula spoke up before he could.

"Thankyou," she said, wearing a smile that said she was clearly enjoying her moment of glory. "But none of it would have been possible without my brother, Zuko. He has proven himself loyal and honorable, Father. He fought with the heart of a true firebender." Zuko felt better but surprised to hear those words coming from his sister, of all people. His father looked at him again and Zuko lowered his head, unable to look him in the eye.

"So I've heard," said Ozai, in response to Azula. "I never expected that to come from you, Zuko." Zuko forced himself to look at his father again, but rather than feeling afraid, the only thing he could think of now was the time he'd looked him in the eye during the Agni Kai... just before...

"You may both return to your original quarters, assuming you remember where they are," he added looking at Zuko darkly. "After playing the traitor for so long, I wouldn't be surprised if you've forgotten."

"I haven't," spoke up Zuko at last.

"Very well then." With that he left them to take their things to their rooms.  
----

(A/N: I'm gonna do a second chapter either today or post up 2 tomorrow. I can't just leave it here cuz I'm all steamed up knowing what's coming next. Again, I am SO SORRY for the delay. Cheers! And check out the video! It looks great!)


	14. Chapter 14

Jin woke the next morning feeling like a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders. After grabbing on to the hope she had almost let slip away she forgave Iroh for lying, undestanding now why he did it, but also knowing that carrying that hatred with her would not make things change.  
And in her heart she knew he was a good man, despite his past, he was still good at heart. Forgiving Zuko, however, would take longer, if she ever did it. At least Iroh had proven himself to be a good man, but Zuko, by helping his sister take over Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation, had proven the opposite, and Jin still felt like she had been betrayed by him. 

Standing to her feet, not feeling weak this time, she headed into the kitchen to find Iroh standing there, moping. She raised an eyebrow, not used to seeing the old man act sad, and she walked over to him to see what was wrong. "Are you okay?" she asked. He looked up at her.

"Hmm... me? I'm all right... I guess..." he muttered. Immediatly Jin knew it was tea related. He didn't have to say another word, she just knew it. He always took on that manipulative act whenever he wanted tea, and she looked at the counter and frowned, seeing the bag of tea leaves was still full... well, barely full considering how much tea he would consume in a day, but there was more than enough to make a cup.

"There's still tea leaves in there," she said, pointing to the bag. "Plenty for you to brew yourself some."

"I know that," he said. "It's just..." he sighed and looked at the floor. "I miss my belongings." She raised the other eyebrow. That sounded very out of character for him.

"From your apartment?" she asked, and he nodded. "What sort of belongings?"

"Nothing very special," he answered. "Just personal items."

"Well... can't you go get them? I mean, I doubt anyone's moved into your apartment."

"Perhaps," he said. "But I'd hate to go alone and risk getting caught." She nodded, sort of understanding, but secretly thinking that wasn't much of an excuse. "Besides, the door's locked and I lost my key weeks ago. The only way in is through the window and my old body just won't fit inside..."

"Ah..." she said, now seeing where this was going. "Well, put on your cloak and we'll go."

"You're a good person," he said with a wide grin, and hurried off to grab his cloak.  
----

Zuko stood in his old bedroom and looked around. It was so full of memories. He had come in here often when he was little, usually to avoid Azula. On the bed he found new clothes had been laid out for him, Fire Nation ones he hadn't seen in years, and he changed into them, knowing the fact they had been left out there for him to see was a hint that he was supposed to wear them.

When he looked in the mirror he began to feel like his old self again, looking more and more like it now. He sat down and stared at his reflection for a long time, staring at his scar mostly, and his hair, which had grown a lot and was now covering his eyes when he didn't tuck it behind his ears.  
Tucking it behind his scarred ear was easier said than done.

The door opened, and he looked up to see Azula stepping in. "What are you doing?" he asked, not wanting her there right now.

"Glad to see you found your clothes," said Azula. "Earth green was never your color." Her voice was almost taunting and he cringed. There was something in her hand, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. She stepped behind him and ran her fingers into his hair. Zuko promptly pulled away and looked at her.

"Cut it out!" he snapped.

"Hold still!" she snapped back, smacking him upside the head, and she ran her fingers into his hair again, tracing a line from where the tops of his ears started, and to the back of his head, then combed back the top layer so it was no longer in his face. She then opened her hand and he realized she was holding a red hair tie to tie his hair back in a top knot, the sign of Fire Nation royalty. She pulled it back tightly, hurting his head a little, but he said nothing. When she was done, the top layer was tied back neatly while the lower layer hung down a few inches above his shoulders.

"There," she said. "You can't be wearing your hair raggedy anymore, PRINCE Zuko." She stood up and left and he took note that even when she was helping him she still carried an icy hateful air about her. He knew she had done him a favor though, looking into the mirror. His father may have let him come home, but he knew in the two minutes he had gotten to actually see him that his love for him had hardly grown at all, if it had grown. All it would take was something like being careless about his appearance, and everything would possibly be thrown away.

He lowered his eyes to the floor, feeling like he really hadn't gotten what he'd been fighting for. He'd gotten to come home, that was true enough, but his father had shown that he still didn't accept him, and Zuko finally began to understand that he probably never would. Looking up into the mirror again, seeing now that he was a 17, soon to be 18 year old firebending prince who had grown stronger and wiser over the years, who had complete loyalty to the Fire Nation, and yet it wasn't enough.

A part of him thought losing everything he had for this was not worth it, but he shoved the doubt aside. He couldn't think that now. He had to hold out hope, he knew he had to. If he didn't, he'd be giving up, and he was not one to do that. He'd always been fighting, and he had accepted long ago that he would fight his entire life, and somehow, someday he would make his father see him for how valuable he was. It would be worth it, he told himself. It would be worth it.  
----

Jin slipped through the window with ease and quickly ran to the door, unlocking and opening it to allow Iroh in. When he stepped inside and looked around he smiled to himself, always having a special love for this little apartment, and deliberately he went into another room, telling Jin he wouldn't be long.

Unfortunately he over estimated how long he would be, and Jin, after waiting nearly five minutes, decided to explore a little, not seeing any harm in it. Since it was just a small apartment, there weren't many rooms to go into. It was only the main room, a small closet sized kitchen, and two small bedrooms. She went into Iroh's first, looking around but not really digging into anything, knowing he may not like that. There was a bed, a few clothes laying around, and nothing much else.

The next room was Zuko's, and though her frustration with him had not faded, she was still interested on what was inside, and slipped in, this time not afraid to dig into his things. His room was a mess, but she almost expected that. There was nothing much of interest in here either, just clothes mostly. It wasn't till she looked up at the wall that she spotted anything that intrigued her. Two swords, hanging in the shape of an 'x', and she stared at them, wondering if he had dueled with them before.

Behind her the door opened and she turned around, feeling a little embarassed. "Sorry," she said to Iroh. "I just..." she couldn't find the words to say, but he nodded, looking at her in understanding.

"It's all right," he told her. "You like those?" He pointed to the blades and she nodded.

"Are they decoration?" she asked, looking at them again.

"No, he fought with them," said Iroh. "He was very skilled at it too. He knew how to make the blades move as one."

"What do you mean?" she asked, and Iroh walked over, removing them from the wall.

"They're dual broadswords," explained Iroh, holding them both in one hand and unsheathing them a few inches so the blades glinted a little in the light. "Two swords made from the same blade. The key to fighting with them is to pretend they are still a part of the same sword."

"Oh," she said. "I'd never heard of that." Looking at them with a newfound interest now she glanced up at Iroh and asked kindly, "May I... uh..."

"You may have them," said Iroh, handing them to her. "I doubt he'll be returning for them." She smiled and took them with a nod.

"Thanks." They stepped out of the apartment and she turned to Iroh again. "So, what were you so desperate to get from here?" she asked him.

With a smile he pulled out a bag and held it up, the strong smell of tealeaves hitting here. "This particular tea tastes best when aged properly and I knew today was the day it'd be ready," he said and she rolled her eyes.

"Should have known," she muttered, and they headed home.  
----


	15. Chapter 15

(A/N: It's 7:44am and I'm feeling very tired zombie-ish right now, and I have a choir concert tonight, so I'm actually writing this right now while I supposed to be paying attention in class. Once again, I'm setting the record for world's worst role model. I mean this fic so far has been worked on at home, during classes, during church sermons, and even when I'm supposed to be working the sound desk. But it's all been a blast so let the good times role! Oh, and to explain for a segment coming up… I was listening to Nymphetamine by Cradle of Filth when I wrote this…) 

Zuko wandered the halls alone, seeing if anything had changed much since he'd left. Looking around nothing really had. The décor was the same, the halls, the floors, the walls, everything was as he remembered it. The only difference he could really notice was the soldiers he saw walking around either looked older or they were new recruits he hadn't met before. He hadn't seen his father except for that brief moment when they'd first come in, and secretly he was glad. Azula hadn't been around either, but that didn't bother him. He wanted to be alone to take all this in.

He stepped outside and finally spotted something different. The small tree that grew next to the small pond had grown quite a bit, its branches stretching out and casting large shadows across the grass. The pond had done the opposite. The water had been evaporating over time and now there wasn't much left. A baby turtle duck was sitting out in the middle of it though, looking around, oblivious of his presence, and Zuko wondered where its family was. He soon got his answer when he heard loud quacking and looked over to see the mother and two other babies sitting nearby, the babies waddling around and stumbling on each other while the mother kept her eye on all of them.

Walking over to the tree, Zuko sat down in its shade, leaning his back against the trunk. He remembered the day he and his mother had sat there talking while feeding the turtle ducks. The truth was they had done that a lot when he was younger, until the day his father had ordered his mother to not let him waste his time anymore on something so meaningless when he should be training. His mother and father had differed a lot when it came to raising him. His mother had encouraged him to be a kid and to play and have fun like other kids did, while his father wanted him to skip childhood altogether and become a warrior. That was what he'd done with Azula, and as Zuko looked at the kind of person Azula had grown into, he was greatful that he hadn't wound up the same.

Still… after his mother had died, he was forced to grow up fast, and he had missed out on a lot of his childhood. That was one thing he envied the avatar for. He was a true kid at heart and Zuko hadn't felt that in years. He looked over to the other side of the pond and remembered the day he'd run out, looking for his mother and found his father standing there silently. When he, Zuko, had asked where his mother was, his father would not answer him, but he didn't need to. Zuko could already guess she was dead, and he had a burning feeling at times that his father had something to do with it. Azula had not been sensitive about it in the slightest. That week all she could talk about was how much better it was with mom dead and gone. Zuko had never forgiven her for that, mostly because he knew Azula still felt that way.

But he had loved his mother, and nothing would have changed that or replaced the hurt he felt when she left. Still, he wanted to know what had happened to her at least. If she'd suffered long, or if it had been quick and painless. The wondering was morbid, and he knew that, but he couldn't help it.

He sat there for almost an hour and accidentally dozed in the light of the sun. When he opened his eyes again some hours had gone by and it was already dark out. Standing up, and cursing himself for falling asleep, he turned to go back inside, but the door was locked. He cursed again and went to a window to see if anyone was near. A group of guards stood, talking amongst themselves and Zuko began to hammer on the wall, hoping to get their attention. They didn't respond at all and he knocked harder. When they still did not respond he wondered if they were deaf and began shouting.

"Zuko!" shouted a voice, and he spun around. "Zuko! Help me!" He couldn't see anyone but he could hear the voice loud and clear. "Zuko, help me! Please!" The cries became more frantic, and ran around, not seeing anything. Then, by the bushes he saw a shadow laying there and he began to run to it.

"Zuko!" shouted a new voice. "Help me!" This one was coming from behind him, directly across from the first voice and he found himself standing between the two of them, unsure of who to run to.

"Zuko!" came a third voice. "You must choose now!" This one was coming from his right. And just when he thought he couldn't get any more confused ad fourth voice chimed in. "Don't listen to them, Zuko! They all will lie to you!"

Four voices. Four of them. One standing in each direction, all shouting to him at once. Zuko looked around fearfully, only seeing shadows and no faces, knowing not who they were but only that three were female and one was male.

"Zuko, help me!" shouted the first voice again, the figure stepping out from the shadows. Zuko felt his stomach drop and his hands trembled.

"Mom?" he cried.

"Zuko!" shouted the second voice. She stepped out of the shadows as well and he looked at her, his eyes growing even wider. "Come back to me! Why are you doing this?!" It was Jin. He stared at her face, trying to believe it, when the third voice stepped out.

"Zuko! You must make your choice now!" It was his uncle, Iroh. "You can't linger any longer on the edge!"

"Don't listen to him, Zuko!" shouted the final voice, stepping out to look at him. It was Azula. "He's lied to you all this time! He doesn't want what's best for you!"

They slowly closed in around him, all of them calling his name, telling him to do four different things at once. Zuko's mind felt like it was being tugged in each direction, threatening to tear open into pieces or just explode inside his head. They grabbed his shirt, all of them pulling him towards them.  
"Zuko! Zuko! Zuko! Zuko!"

He finally tore free of them, falling to his knees and grabbing at his head. "STOP!" he shouted. "SHUT UP!" The world around him went black and he looked up. There was no sky above or ground below, but he was still able to stand as if there was one.

He looked around, his heart pounding wildly and his mother stepped up to him. "Zuko," she whispered, placing her hand on his face. "You've forgotten..."

He shook his head, feeling tears in his eyes. "No I haven't!" he pressed. "I never forgot!"

"You've lost yourself, my son," she said.

"No! I haven't forgotten! I haven't forgotten!" He reached out to touch her but she vanished. "MOM!" he shouted, but she was gone.

"Why did you do it?" came a weak voice, and he spun around to see Jin standing there. "I trusted you! And you betrayed me!"

"Jin!" he shouted, running to her. "Jin I never-" but she vanished before he could reach her.

"Make up your mind, Prince Zuko!" shouted his uncle's voice, and he spun around to face him. "You must make your decision now!"

"No, Zuko!" shouted Azula as she stepped up. "He's a liar!"

"Don't listen to her!"

"Don't listen to him!"

Zuko felt himself going on the edge of a meltdown and as they closed in on him, whatever had been holding him up gave out and he felt himself falling down a deep abyss, the sounds of Azula and Iroh still barking orders at him ringing from above.

When he landed at last, he was in the Agni Kai ring, crowds around him shouting and cheering. He stood to his feet slowly, looking around in confusion, then reached up to brush the sweat from his face and froze. When his hand traced the spot where it was supposed to grow rough from his scar,  
there was nothing there. His scar was gone. He looked around, knowing there was something familiar about all of this, then realized he was 14 again, facing his father for the dual.

When his father stepped out to face him, he collapsed to his knees, knowing well what was to come. "Fight back, Zuko!" shouted a voice, and he turned, spotting Iroh standing in the crowd. "Fight him back!"

"No!" shouted a second voice. "Take your punishment like the traitor you are!" It was Azula.

They continued to shout, and Zuko looked up in time to see his father raising his hand to strike and he closed his eyes, preparing himself...

Zuko's head snapped up and he looked around. He was back, leaned up against the tree and it was nighttime. It had all been a nightmare, and he stood up, trembling and sweating, running back inside, fearing he may find he was still dreaming.


	16. Chapter 16

(A/N: I'm so sorry that last chapter ended so abruptly! I started it and worked on most of it in school when I could, and it was finished at my house when I only had a time frame of a half hour to get that done, eat dinner, cram myself into my prom dress from last year, and go sing at a choir concert. So life was pretty hectic yesterday! I was still getting homework done during first period today. So this chapter shouldn't be as messy.) 

Jin stood in line to buy vegetables when she over heard two men talking behind her. "Everyone's been getting restless and the Dai Li haven't come out of that palace since the Fire Nation left."

"I think they don't feel safe without the Fire Nation backing them up," said the second man. "Without them, the Dai Li seem almost hopeless."

"Some people think they left with the Fire Nation."

"Really?"

"I don't though. I think they're still in there, trying to keep the people scared. But they really have no power. It's only a matter of time now…"

"Till what?"

Jin continued to look through the vegetables, but listened very carefully to every word they were saying.

"Till the people start fighting back to take back our city. The Dai Li have had it for too long and everyone is getting fed up. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an uprising by the end of the month."

"If there is one, I'll definitely be there."

"I don't know of anyone who wouldn't."

They walked off continuing the conversation and Jin hurried up and paid for the food. This had not been the first conversation she'd heard about an uprising. In fact, there had been more and more lately, and she wasn't surprised. It was becoming very evident that there would be an uprising, and judging by the growing amount that people were talking about it, it wouldn't be too long now. She thought of her family in prison and how she missed them so badly. She didn't even know if they were still alive, but she held out hope because there'd been no word of anymore prisoners dying since the attempted outbreak.

She missed her family more now than ever, and they were all she could think about fort he walk home.  
-  
Jin sat on her bed, holding one of the unsheathed broadswords in her hands and staring at it, wondering what kind of battles it had seen. She wondered if it had ever killed or drawn blood. Considering it once belonged to Zuko, she wouldn't have been surprised if it had. The blade was scratched in a few places, but had been kept in a fairly good condition.

"I thought I'd make lunch," said a voice, and she looked up to see Iroh. "Are you hungry, Jin?"

"Sure," she said, standing up and sheathing the blade.

"You seem to have taken quite an interest in those," he said, gesturing to the broadswords as they left. "My nephew seemed to pick up the skill very quickly and was able to use them as if they were a part of his body."

"Can you use them?" she asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table as he went to make lunch.

"I know a little," he said. "But I'm no expert."

"Do you think you could teach me?" He stared at her as if he weren't sure how to answer that question. "Ba Sing Se has become a dangerous place to live. The Fire Nation may have left, but the Dai Li are still in power. People have been talking about an uprising soon, and I promised I'd be there, fighting to get my family free." She looked at him in an almost begging manner. "I won't be much help if I don't know how to utilize a weapon. Please, will you teach me?"

Iroh stared at her for a long time, weighing out the pro's and con's of making this decision, then finally with a small nod said, "I will teach you what I know." Jin jumped up and hugged him, catching him off guard. "But!" he said, before she could get too excited. "You must promise you'll listen to me and obey me no matter what."

"I promise!" she cried, smiling widely. "Thank you!" Iroh smiled and patted her shoulder, returning to making lunch for her.  
----

Zuko's head was still filled with images from his nightmare, and he wanted to do something to distract himself, so that night he changed into a training outfit and went into one of the training rooms and practiced on his firebending. It seemed so long since he'd last done it, but when he got the first few blasts out of his system he felt energized and ready to go. He went through the basics at first, reminding himself of simple attacks and defensive moves, then gradually worked his way up to large blasts and blazes that required the majority of his energy and focus.

He found himself stopping often, forgetting how much physical strength firebending consumed as well. When he had been hunting the avatar, he had trained regularly and it had given him quite a workout. But when he and Iroh had finally settled in Ba Sing Se, he had stopped that altogether, and his muscles had shrunk down and he didn't feel as strong and agile as he had been. But he knew if he trained more often it would all come back, and he'd more than likely become even stronger than before.

He went through everything he knew, repeating moves, trying to makes his attack styles even bigger and more powerful, and finally, after an hour had gone by, he stopped, standing in the middle of the room, his breathing very heavy and his body covered in sweat. Feeling overheated, he pulled off his shirt, feeling a rush of relief as the cool air hit his bare torso, and he used his shirt to wipe off the sweat from his face.

After a moment of giving his body a break he decided to try something he hadn't in a long time. He wanted to manipulate lightning, but hadn't even tried it since the day his uncle had told him that he wouldn't be able to do it until he got his head cleared and resolved the issues inside of him. He had been wanting nothing more than to go home then, and he had that now, so there really shouldn't be a reason he couldn't do it, he figured.

Remembering what Iroh had told him about lightning being the 'cold blooded fire', he sat on the floor and shut his eyes in a meditative sort of way, trying to clear out any remnants of the nightmare and focus. In order to use lightning he would needed to be at peace in his mind, so shutting out the things that had been bothering him lately was important. He sat silently for a few minutes, and when he felt calm and collected enough he stood up, deciding he was ready to give it a try.

Focusing all his energy, he pointed his arm forward to the wall and delivered a blast. Much like it had done the last time he tried, the lightning came out as a fiery explosion and he was thrown backwards, smacking his head on the floor. Zuko growled in frustration and stood up, rubbing his sore head. Laughter came from the doorway and he turned to see Azula standing there with a mocking smile. "You call that lightning?" she taunted. "You never were one to master advanced firebending."

"Shut up, Azula!" he snapped, getting into a stance again. Azula crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, waiting with a smirk on her face. Zuko managed to clear his mind again and delivered a second blast, this time seeing a few inches of lightning shoot out of his fingers. This victory was short lived because it quickly exploded into a ball of fire and he was launched halfway across the room, again, landing roughly on the floor. Azula began to laugh at him again and Zuko growled, getting up to his feet and giving Azula a venomous look. "And I'm sure you mastered it the first time?!" he half shouted.

"You know me," she said, stretching lazily. "…born lucky…" Zuko's eyes darkened, but before he could say anything she stepped down and walked over to him. "You're clearing your mind enough to create the lightning, but you're not focusing your energy enough to manipulate it and make it last." She stretched her arm out and delivered a perfect blast at the wall, almost not seeming to think about it. Whether she was doing it to demonstrate or show off, he wasn't sure. "You may not power lightning with emotion," she explained, turning to face him. "But you fuel all your energy into it just the same." She stepped aside, then looked at him and said, "Try again"  
----

"The first thing you must learn is defense," said Iroh. "Defense is just as important as attacks, but the key is to never give your opponent an opportunity to harm you. And defending yourself as you strike is just as important."

They had cleared out the common room which was large enough for learning the basics. He was holding the dual blades to show the proper way of handling them and then took a fighting stance, holding them in front of him, their tips pointing in opposite directions, but the blades no more than a few inches apart from each other. "This is an example of a blocking form," he explained. "But if someone were to charge at me all I'd have to do is-" he swung the blades out as if striking an invisible foe and Jin could morbidly visualize the attacker getting two deep diagonal cuts on his body. He held out the blades to her and said, "You try it now." She took the blades and looked up at him unsure. He picked up a sword she had brought out to use to train with. It had been her father's and she saw no harm in using it for practice. "I'll come at you, and you fight back."

"What?!" she exclaimed, not entirely comfortable with the thought of being attacked by a sword just yet.

"I promise I won't hurt you, Jin," Iroh assured her. "Just block then strike back." She nodded and he stepped to the other side of the room, holding the sword, ready to strike her. "Get ready…" he said, and she got into a fighting stance.  
----

"All of your energy," reminded Azula as Zuko took his fighting stance. "Ready… now!"

Zuko focused all his energy and, with one arm extended, delivered a mighty blast of lightning at the wall. The blast had been so large and loud it made even her jump, but Zuko remained firmly planted, feeling a rush of adrenaline as he realized he had finally done it.  
----

Iroh ran at Jin, the sword raised to strike and Jin's first thought was to just swing and hope she'd save herself. But she remembered she was working with real blades and if she was careless she'd hurt either him or her. She had no choice but to face him and try to block his strike. Watching him come, and trying to figure out in her head where his blow would land, she quickly crossed the blades and his strike landed directly on them. She then used one blade to knock his away from her, and pointed the other at his chest, smiling in a moment of victory.

"Not bad," said Iroh"  
----

"Well done," said Azula, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Once you've mastered control you may very well be a great firebender." Her words were supposed to be encouragement, but her voice and expression was not one of praise. When he looked at her it seemed to be fueled more by malice. Still, he was too proud of himself to care, and he knew he would soon be powerful, maybe even powerful enough to one day capture the avatar. She left him and he stood, staring at the exact spot where the lightning had struck and smiled to himself.  
----

"Your technique has a ways to go," said Iroh. "But that move alone will be more helpful than you know." Jin smiled. "You'll need to get your body in better physical shape if you're going to fight." She couldn't help but look him up and down when he said that. "If I fight, I'm planning on using firebending, but you have nothing but your weapons to fight with. You will need to be quick and agile if you want to make a successful attack."

"Okay," she said, not entirely looking forward to having to exercise, but if it had to be done… "What else will you show me?"

"Nothing more now," said Iroh. "Now, I must make some tea."

"Must?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Young Jin, if you haven't realized by now that tea is a necessity to life…" She laughed and didn't let him finish that statement.

"I'll take a cup too while you're at it," she said and he nodded with a smile. Looking in the mirror she saw she had broken into a small bit of a sweat and smiled. She thought of her family and felt a little more hopeful that the day they'd fight the Dai Li, she'd be there and able to help set them free. She would be a great fighter. She had to be, there was no other option.  
-  
(A/N: And the plot thickens… R&R please! Gracias! I hope to do another double update today since this entire chapter was done at school, meaning I'll have more free time at home.)


	17. Chapter 17

(A/N: The funny thing with this fic is, when I went to update that last chapter I was like "HOLY CRAP! THIS THE 16th CHAPTER ALREADY?!!" It really doesn't feel like it whereas with my last ones around 16 I knew I was drawing to a close... if they ever dragged on that long. Fear not, this is not drawing to a close... unless if you really hate this fic... then of course be very afraid. Oh, and if you have access to the Rocky theme song, play it during the beginning of this chapter. It's fitting, lol.)

Jin began waking early the next few days to go out and run. There were old pairs of her brother's clothes from when he was younger laying around that she fit into, and she would run in those because they were easier to exercise in. She felt silly the first few times, dressing like a boy, but soon she didn't care, and she was out so early that there were hardly any people awake so see her.

She would try to stay out as close to an hour as she could and with each passing day she became able to stay out longer and longer before tiring out. Soon she was out over an hour and would come back to the house with a good sweat. Her body began to build up more endurance and she felt herself growing stronger. Soon she began to add in more to her routine, including push-ups to build up her arms, and situps to help with her abs. In the afternoons she and Iroh would practice, and even though he didn't have much that he was able to show her, she still felt that he was teaching her quite a bit that would come in use. Her only trouble was keeping up a good formation with the blades, and at times she would become so eager to attempt a strike that she'd be unable to guard part of her, leaving herself open for a stab.

Iroh scolded her constantly on this, and though it annoyed her at times, she was still able to understand a little why he would come down so hard on her. If this was for real, her enemy would not be gracious enough to point out that she needed to fix her formation. But she grew better at it gradually, and soon she was going through different attacks with a lot more speed and grace than she had had before. One afternoon she and Iroh got a little carried away, their attacks becoming more full force and spreading out, too spread out for the room they were in. Iroh took a swing at her and when Jin went to block it and strike back, she accidentally ran herself into a corner and Iroh's blade grazed against the tops of her fingers.

She gasped, more from surprise than pain, and dropped the blade, looking at the blood now flowing down her fingers. Iroh rushed up to her to get a look. "I'm very sorry, Jin!" he exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she said, trying to keep the blood from running onto her clothes or dripping off her hand. "Damn corner…" she muttered under her breath.

"We'd better wrap that in something," said Iroh, taking her hand to look at the injury.

"It's really all right," she insisted.

"I know it is," he said with a nod, understanding she was just being stubborn and persistent, and lead her off to wrap the cuts. "I know."

----

A few months ago he would never have believed he would have taken any help from his sister, but now Zuko found himself learning from Azula all the firebending techniques he hadn't been taught by anyone. Even though he could generate lightning now with ease, controlling it's amount and the direction it would take when firing out was easier said than done. Fire itself was hard to control at times, but lightning was wild and fast, and unlike fire, he could not manipulate it. Once it was shot out, he could only pray he'd directed it in the right place with the right amount of energy, not too much or too little. Any lack of control could be deadly, and he'd proven that several times when he nearly struck his sister -on accident-.

One day he delivered a large blast of lightning and it missed Azula by inches. She looked at him angrily and slapped him upside the head. "Watch what you're doing!" she shouted. "If you can't control it when you fire it, then don't fire it at all! For once in you life, would you please use your head?!" Zuko became angry with her and without thinking delivered a blast of fire at her. Azula dodged it with ease and fired back. This lead right into a full fledged fight, both of them shooting fire at each other, not seeming to care if either of them got hurt, both of them too angry to watch what they were doing.

Zuko hurled a large blazing ball of fire and when Azula dodged it, it flew behind her and nearly struck someone standing there that neither of them had noticed. Azula stepped aside, staring as the large figure came forward and Zuko's eyes widened and his heart dropped. It was his father.

He felt fear rush through his veins again, not knowing what his punishment would be for nearly hitting his own father, the Firelord, with a ball of fire. "So…" Ozai said after a moment. "You've finally decided to fight back." Zuko shook his head.

"No!" he said, stepping back, feeling a bit of shame for still feeling this afraid when being around his father.

"Fight back like a man, Zuko," he father commended, and he shot a blast of fire at him. Zuko dodged it and did not fight back.

"Please!" he begged.

"FIGHT!" roared his father, firing at him again. Zuko dodged it and looked at his sister who was watching him with a dark frown, looking down on him. Ozai pointed two fingers at him, and Zuko immediately recognized what was coming. If he didn't act quickly, his father would blast him with a bolt of lightning.

"Feel the flow..." He remembered his uncle's words and when the lightning shot out of his father's fingers, Zuko quickly extended his hand to recieve it and redirected it into the wall. The rush he felt the all the energy passed through him was unlike anything he'd felt, not even like when he would fire out the lightning himself. His legs gave way and he fell to he knees, panting and sweating. There was no response from his father, but Azula stared at him wide-eyed.

"You can redirect lightning?" she cried.

"You learned that trick from my brother, no doubt," Ozai spat. "Using a trick you learned from a traitor... why doesn't that surprise me?" Once again Zuko felt like he was being looked down on, like he was a dog and his father was the scolding master, never happy with anything he did.

"You told me to fight back," said Zuko, looking up at him darkly, no longer wanting to give his father the pleasure of seeing him afraid. He recieved a sneer for a response. Ozai then turned to Azula and snapped, "And you, of all people, should show more control than your brother."

Zuko's jaw dropped and Azula looked appalled. This was the first time he had ever scolded her for anything ever! When he left she stood there in dead silence, almost as if she had no idea what to do with herself. Being yelled at by her father had clearly thrown her off guard, and Zuko stared at her, wondering what she would do.

Even though he wanted to feel better knowing she'd finally been yelled at, he didn't. He was still angry with what had happened to him, and he had the frustrated feeling of doubting that anything he'd done lately had been worth this.

"When did you-" Azula had started to ask when she collected herself, but Zuko left, too frustrated to talk to her.

----

Jin wandered down the street, not really having anywhere she needed to be, but she felt like taking a walk. She hadn't been down to the fountain in a long time and she wanted to sit by the lamps again and watch the beauty of it. She walked over, enjoying the peaceful silence. As she walked, she couldn't help but look over at the Earth King's palace and she wondered what the Dai Li had been doing in there. They hadn't been out and about at all, and she could understand why some people thought they had left altogether.

Not paying attention to where she was going, she began to walk in that direction. When it occured to her that this was happening, rather than stopping, she kept on moving, not sure what was drawing her, but curious enough to find out. As she got closer she became more cautious, not wanting to get caught incase there were any Dai Li out there. She didn't see anything but she didn't trust that still, knowing that they, after all, couldn't be trusted. She walked all the way up to the palace wall, and crept along the side, surprised that she had even gotten this close.

The realization of what she was doing finally sunk in and she realized wandering out here was one of the stupidest choices she had ever made. Turning to leave while she still could she took two steps when a voice called in a whisper, "Jin?" She froze, her heart stopping. She knew that voice. "Jin, is that you?"

She spun around and ran to the wall, getting on her knees, noticing for the first time a small barred window that actually looked in on the cells. It was up high so the prisoners couldn't reach it, but apparent the view was enough for her brother to catch a glimpse of her passing by. "Koji!" she cried, tears overwhelming her eyes. She reached her hand down to him and he reached up, their fingertips just brushing. "Koji you're alive!"

"I was so worried about you, Jin!" he called up and she smiled.

"I've been fine," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"They're in another cell, but they're all right. We're all all right. What have you been doing?"

Jin paused, knowing that telling the truth that she had let Iroh, a man who had once tried to take over Ba Sing Se, live in their house would not be a smart choice. "Nothing really," she lied. "There's been talk of an uprising."

"We know," said Koji. "Some of the prisoners down here are even beginning to plot. It won't be very long now."

"Same up here," she said.

Koji suddenly looked behind him and then back up at Jin. "The guards are coming. Get out of here now!" She got to her feet, angry that their reunion had to be cut short. "And Jin! Be careful!" he called.

"I will!" she called back, and ran back, away from the palace, praying that her brother had not gotten himself in trouble.

----


	18. Chapter 18

(A/N: Sorry for the non-existant update. I had major writer's block, but now that it's cleared up I'm eager to keep on going. Oh, and I made a gag video for Zuko using the song 'Trogdor' by Strong Bad, if you've ever seen or heard what I'm talking about. It's actually kinda funny. And I'm making one for Azula right now. And this chapter was written while I was in the middle of a fight with a friend of mine whom I love dearly but can be a real pain in the butt sometimes. Well, let's keep going.)

"Why are we doing this outside?" asked Jin. She was dressed in the clothes she normally used to work out in for the last few days, and in her hands were the broadswords.

"Incase you haven't noticed," said Iroh. "The little room inside seems to keep getting smaller and smaller the more we train." Jin smiled, glancing down at her injured hand, which had healed quite a bit. "And it would be refreshing so have some fresh air for a change. Get ready…" Jin got into her fighting stance and prepared herself.

Iroh held out the sword for a second, then, without warning, charged at her, ready to strike. Jin quickly dodged it and took a swing at him, which he blocked. Her blades were pressed against his sword and he gave it a shove, knocking her over onto her back. He pointed the tip of the sword at her throat and smiled down at her, letting her know he'd won. Jin, however, still had some tricks up her sleeve. She swung her leg around and knocked his over, throwing off his stance and causing him to fall. Jumping up to her feet quickly she pointed a blade at his throat and smiled. Iroh grunted as he got back up on his feet, knowing he was getting too old for this.

"A well done surprise attack," he commented, grunting as he put his weight on his old joints. "Attacking in an unpredictable manner will be more effective than if your enemy can guess every move you're about to make."

She smiled and nodded, readying herself for another round.  
----

"I brought you some fresh baked rolls," whispered Jin, lowering in a small bag through the bars to her brother below. "There's some in there for Mom and Dad if you can give them some."

"This will be much better then the stuff they call food here," said Koji with a smile. "Thank you."

"So how are you doing?" she asked, taking a seat in the grass so she could stare down at her brother.

"As well as could be expected," he answered. "I'm so sick of being in this cell, Jin. I want to go outside! I'm an earthbender. I'm meant to be around earth, not behind bars!"

"If I could, you know I'd break you guys out of here," she said sadly.

"Well we won't be behind bars for much longer," he said suddenly, looking up at her with a grin. "But we need your help"  
"What do you need?" she asked, a spark of hope starting to build inside of her.

"In seven days… all the prisoners are breaking out. They take us into the other room to feed us every night, and a week from tonight there's going to be a shipment of coal for their fires…" His voice trailed and he didn't need to continue. Jin knew where this was going. "We're going to do like they did on that prison rig where they held all the earthbenders. We're all going to rise up and get ourselves out of here and give the Dai Li a run for their money." He looked very excited just talking about it, and even Jin couldn't help but smile.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"Spread the word along in the village. The Dai Li are never in it anymore so you'll be safe. But we'll need help from the outside otherwise we'll never pull this off. It's more than an outbreak, Jin. We're taking back our city, all of us, and we're driving the Dai Li out. This is the uprising they've all been talking about." Jin sat speechless, not sure what to say. "Together we'll all outnumber the Dai Li by a lot. It's time to take back what's ours."

"And I'll be there to fight with you, I promise," said Jin, reaching down to him. Koji reached up and touched fingers with her.

"The guards will be back soon," he said after a moment. "Go." She didn't need to be told twice. Getting to her feet, she hurried off, her heart pounding with anticipation. Inside the cell, Koji took a seat on the floor and smiled to himself. He didn't notice the figure sitting in the shadows that had heard everything.  
----

An urgent report was sent strait out to the Fire Nation that evening by the fastest ship they could find. The Fire Nation had already received warnings that talk of an uprising had begun, but now that there was a definite date, urgent help was needed. The Dai Li knew very well that they would be no match to everyone in Ba Sing Se alone, but with the help of the Fire Nation, they stood a much better chance. Once the message was received early the next morning, an emergency war council was called and both Azula and Zuko attended. Remembering very well what had happened last time, Zuko kept his mouth shut the entire time unless he was called on.

The end decision was a troop would be sent out to aid the Dai Li and both Zuko and Azula were entrusted to go along and see that the city remained theirs since they were the ones who managed to capture it in the first place. Ozai then added, with a dark glare at Zuko, that it would be a chance for him to prove his worth if he could defend a city he'd taken over. Zuko realized at that moment that if he failed… what had happened to him before would seem gracious. Either come home victorious or don't come home at all.

When he left, his head was so full of thoughts he hardly knew what to do with himself. He wandered outside to the tree where he had had the nightmare and sat up against it again, trying to clear his head. This place had become very spiritual to him because this was the place where he could most strongly feel his mother's presence. Even though she wasn't there, parts of her had been left behind all over this place, and he felt her very strongly… and he missed her the most here as well.

"I thought I might find you here," said Azula and Zuko looked up, not wanting her here now. "Daydreaming again when you should be thinking about our battle strategy."

"Go away," said Zuko, looking away from her.

"I overheard father say that if you fail, you'll no longer be welcomed home or acknowledged as his son." She had a smile on her face as if the thought pleased her.

"Azula, go!" snapped Zuko.

"Or perhaps he'll kill you… and you'll finally be with Mother."

"SHUT UP!" Zuko roared, and hurled a ball of fire at her. She dodged it, but did not strike back.

"So it is Mother you were daydreaming about," she said, her eyes taking on an evil glare. "Dwelling on the past will not prove you stronger, Zuzu. It makes you weak… and no weakling should be heir to the throne!"

"Is that what this is about?!" Zuko asked. "A competition for the throne?"

"I deserve it more than you and you know it!" snapped Azula, her cool arrogance fading away and pure anger radiating in her eyes.

That's when it occurred to Zuko that this was the first time she'd ever seemed to feel threatened by him. She had always been the better fighter, but in the end, she was not the next in line to the throne. He was… unless of course she could change their father's mind. That was something else he hadn't thought of. His father had never said anything about him, Zuko, no longer being the next in line. Azula had been fighting to get her brother out of that place and take on the position for herself, and up until this point she had thought she was going to do it. But after last night when their father had actually yelled at her and for a brief moment looked down on her the same way he'd always looked down on Zuko, she now knew she was no longer safe and felt very threatened by her brother.

"You're being stupid," said Zuko standing up to leave. He could feel her eyes boring into him and he paused in the doorway, looking back at her. "And you're still Dad's favorite," he added, hoping that would be enough to get her off his back.

He retired to his room, resenting the fact that he had to go here to think rather than his usual spot by the tree. Returning to Ba Sing Se was something he was not entirely looking forward to. It was not the fact that he had all that pressure placed on him to do well or not come home, but it was the fear that he'd run into someone he hadn't seen in almost a month now… someone he'd hurt badly the last time he'd been there. Jin.

Even though he had tried not to, he thought of her everyday, wondered what she was doing, if she was still very angry with him (he was almost certain she still was). He even wondered if she had moved on to someone else… A sudden feeling of dread moved in him, and he realized he still had feelings for her. Azula had warned him that if he still did it would get him into trouble, most of it inflicted by her no doubt, but he couldn't help it. At times when he was alone and there was nothing else to do, she was all he'd think about. If there was one thing he regretted more than betraying his uncle, it was hurting her the way he had. That look on her face when she learned his true name was still burned into his memory… along with the memory of seeing her collapse in tears. He'd done that to her, and he couldn't take it back now.

If Jin was with someone else now it would serve him right. She deserved to be with someone who would be able to love her and take care of her more than he ever could. That wouldn't stop how he felt though, and he prayed that when they arrived in the next few days that he would not see her.  
----

Jin had grown to be much more muscular and agile over the last few weeks and she knew that. As she grew stronger, her training with Iroh had become more intense until one day he told her that he'd taught her everything he knew and all they could do now was continue practicing until her formation and her defensive skills were fully improved. She would practice with Iroh for over and hour a day, but not because she couldn't go on longer. Iroh was old and out of shape and admitted that openly. A little over an hour was about the extent that he could do. Sometimes Jin was still fired up when he was done, so she'd practice alone, going over steps and stances, practicing her strikes and blocking. It almost became like a dance to her, each step and movement having a specific purpose, and the dance over time grew stronger.

After the meeting with her brother, she'd worked almost double the usual time, sometimes persuading Iroh to train with her a little longer, telling him he needed the workout anyway. She would exercise and train by day, and secretly visit her brother by night, getting more details on when exactly the attack was supposed to happen. They knew a day, but establishing a time was easier said than done because their meals were not given to them the same time every night. But it was around the same hours and they soon established a signal he would give her to let her know it was time.

In the mean time, Jin began to secretly spread the word around to the villagers. Her brother's guess that she'd be safe doing this whenever and wherever had been wrong because the next day a few members of the Dai Li were spotted walking around the streets, watching the people as if to make sure they wouldn't try anything. She knew they definitely suspected something, but didn't worry. They were still outnumbered, and they were sure to lose the fight.

The scare of the Dai Li roaming the city didn't stop the rumors from spreading and soon almost everyone knew and began to prepare for it. Jin knew that in a way she would be leading this uprising from the outside, and it encouraged her to train harder. As the day drew closer the peoples' hopes grew. But when they saw the two Fire Nation war ships come in from the harbor, hearts began to sink and hopes seemed to crash. Jin stared at the ships in anger walked home, flopping down in a chair in anger. Iroh looked up from a hot stove and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Jin?" he asked.

"The Dai Li called for reinforcement from the Fire Nation," the said darkly. "Two ships filled with firebending soldiers arrived today. With all of them combined they'll be able to out strengthen us. We may have prisons filled with earthbenders, but we'll be no match to the firebenders and the Dai Li combined." She dropped her head and sighed. "We can't win this fight."

Iroh stared at her, not believing what he was hearing, then set the wooden spoon on the counter and marched right up to her, putting his hands on her shoulders and giving her a firm look in the eye. "If you're going to give up now just because a few Fire Nation soldiers stand in your way between you and your family, you're not the fight I thought you were." She looked up at him and he almost shook her. "Snap out of it Jin! Tomorrow night we will storm that prison, we will get your family free, and we will throw the Dai Li out. We've come too far to give up just because the fight won't be as easy as it once seemed. Besides, we still outnumber them, don't we?" Jin nodded. "Then if you can't find hope in anything else, find hope in that."

She smiled at him and nodded slowly. The sun was setting and she took in a deep cleansing breath. Tomorrow night they would finally fight back, and she'd finally be with her family again… one way or another.  
----

(A/N: R&R por favor! Cheers!) 


	19. Chapter 19

(A/N: Showtime! And for some reason I've got 'Eye Of the Tiger' stuck in my head. Oh well. Here we go!) 

The sun was setting slowly, as if it wanted to make every anxious being below wait in agony for the battle of their lives. Inside her house, Jin waited impatiently, pulling on her brother's pants and tightening the belt with the sheathed broadswords around her waist. She tied her hair back into a tight ponytail, not wanting her hair to fall in her face as she fought, and she stared at herself in the mirror. She was shaking, but not from fear. This was the moment she'd been waiting for, and now that it was here she could barely contain her excitement. Energy seemed to swell up inside of her, making her feel like she was going to burst, but she fought to contain herself. She'd need that energy for battle.

The door slid open and Iroh stepped in. "If you want to back out of this, Jin, now would be the time to do it." His tone was almost encouraging her to stay home, which would be safer and she knew it, but she'd never live it down.

"My mind's made up," she said, looking at him. He nodded.

"There's something I want to talk to you about," he said softly, the change in tone making her aware that it was something serious. "There's been talk in the city about the ships that came in last night. One of them had aboard it the princess... and the prince." Jin's eyes darkened. So Zuko was here. "I don't know whether or not you'll encounter him in battle, and I know you're anger with him has not left. But I'm begging you to show him compassion."

"What?!" she cried.

"All you know of him is his name and title, Jin," said Iroh. "And with those comes an ugly picture. But my nephew is not the villain you think he is. He's been through a lot, things I really don't feel is my place to tell you. Everything he does and has done has never been to hurt you, Jin. I'm not saying what he's done was right, but it was done to try to regain a part of him he'd lost. His honor." Jin vaguely remembered her mother telling her that Zuko had been exiled. "He's a very complicated, confused, and, to be honest, hurting individual. But he is not altogether evil."

Jin lowered her head, understanding now that he was asking her to spare him because Zuko was still his nephew, and despite all he'd done, Iroh still had hope for him. "Anger is a powerful emotion," said Iroh. "But don't let it control you, young Jin. I'm begging you." She looked at him and nodded.

"I understand," she said. He turned to leave. "Are you going to fight too?" she asked.

He looked at her. "You think I'd let you fight this one alone?" he asked, giving her a grin. She smiled.

"Thankyou," she whispered, and he left her to finish getting ready.  
----

Zuko put on his armor, securing his weapons around his waist and putting on his helmet. Behind him the door opened and Azula stepped in. His eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" he asked coldly.

"To remind you of something," she said darkly. "That peasant girl you were dating... I've overheard she's played a large role in this."

"I was NOT dating her!" Zuko snapped, knowing immediatly she was talking about Jin. Azula smiled as the knowledge that she had gotten him angry again.

"If you encounter her tonight, do not hesitate to bring her down. Or I will." She turned to leave but stopped. "Oh," she added, turning around again. "And father said your honor and place in the family hangs on a thread tonight." She left him there and he seriously considered blasting her with a bolt of lightning, but stopped himself, knowing that would not please his father either.

He looked in the mirror again and sighed. So Jin was involved. He wasn't entirely surprised considering her family was in those prisons. It already seemed his hope that he would not run into her was dashed, but there were still a few hours left in the day. She may not show up after all.  
----

Jin sat by the window to the prison, waiting patiently. Their plan was established and was ready to be set in motion. In a few minutes her brother would send out a signal for her, Iroh would melt through the bars and allow a group of the imprisoned earth benders outside to fight, in exchange for some of the best fighters in the city to go inside and help the remaining earthbenders attack from the inside. Their would be attack raging on from both inside and outside, and they could only hope and pray that this would work. Jin was one of the ones who was going to be attacking inside, and Iroh promised to stay by her side as long as possible. She knew he was running a great risk since he was the enemy of both the Fire Nation and a lot of the earthbenders, but it was a risk he was willing to take and she knew it.

Waiting there was almost unbearable, adrenaline already pumping through her veins. Below her came the sounds of heavy footfalls, running to the window. Iroh made to open the bars, but Jin stopped him. "Wait," she said, wanting to make sure it was her brother and the earth benders. It wasn't until Koji's face came into the light that she let Iroh break through. The two of them then helped to pull the earth benders out and Koji helped lower his sister inside. "Be careful, Jin!" he told her. "There's still a few prisoners locked up. You'll need to break them out. Mom and Dad are still in there."

"All right!" she called back, and she stepped inside, Iroh and the rest of the group following her. Iroh turned to the fighters and pointed to the left half.

"You go through those doors and find the other earthbenders," he commanded, his general-like instincts coming back. "The rest of you, help us get the prisoners out of here, especially the women and children. We'll all meet up later. Now go!" They did as they were told and Jin stayed back to help set her mother and father free. A set of keys were found hanging on the wall and one of the fighters used them to unlock some of the cells, while others managed to break down doors, not wanting to wait.

Jin had Iroh help melt open the locks. She did not have to look far, for her parents were in the second cell Iroh was able to break open. Her mother looked up, seeming to almost be in a dreamlike state, and her father stared at her as if he hardly recognized her. "Jin!" cried her mother, getting to her feet and embracing her. Her father did the same and Jin smiled with tears in her eyes.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay!" she said, her voice choking.

"I hate to break up this moment," said Iroh, calling their attention back to the situation at hand. "But we don't have much time..."

"Right," said Jin stepping back. "There's an exit over there," she said pointing to the wall where the other prisoners were escaping. "Get yourselves out of here now."

"What about you?" asked her mother, but Jin was already leaving.

"Don't worry about me!" she called, Iroh following closely behind. "Just get yourselves out!"

They did not get far before a pair of Dai Li soldiers jumped into their path, and Jin drew her blades, getting herself ready to fight. Iroh blasted fire at one and began to duel him while Jin took on the other, jumping and dodging as he used his earthbending attacks against her. He stomped on the earth below her, and it caused a wave to charge towards her, meant to knock her off her feet. She quickly jumped to avoid it and attempted to strike him. The earthbender dodged her and she fell to the ground, getting knocked of course by his hand grabbing on to her ankle. She fell with a thud and the earth came up and around her ankles, pinning her in place.

Iroh turned, seeing what was happening and fired a blast at the soldier, sending him crashing into the stone wall, and he then blasted the stone off Jin's ankles, freeing her. "Thanks," she said, standing up.  
----

Zuko and Azula practically had to hit the ground running. The battle was already raging on quite violently, and they seperated, Azula aiding the soldiers outside while Zuko remained fighting inside. The men who could not bend at all were the easiest to stop, but the earthbenders were determined and he could tell. He almost was beat a few times, but managed to get himself out of it, firing mighty blasts of fire to send them crashing into walls or other soldiers. He hadn't used any lightning yet, and he wasn't planning to. Even though he wanted to fight to please his father, he didn't want to kill anyone unless he absolutely had to. Because of this, he stuck to his basic firebending, avoiding lightning at all costs.

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, having violently knocked another earthbender into unconciousness, and he looked around, seeing that almost all the remaining earthbenders and fighters were matched up with a firebender or Dai Li soldier, all of them in unending violent battles. Zuko knew there would definitely bodies to clean up when this was all over, but who would win was not yet clear. And he had no idea what was going on outside.  
----

Jin and Iroh ran out into the royal hall to the heart where most of the battle was raging, and they joined in quickly. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, they were seperated, and Jin was on her own, without Iroh to protect her. She knew Iroh would be all right so she didn't even worry about him. The Dai Li were her main concern, and at the moment she was fighting a soldier that was proving to be as determined and as hard of a fighter as the previous one. She remembered what had happened last time, and made sure her feet were never in the same place for more than a second. All it would take was one wrong step and she'd be trapped again.

The soldier finally made his mistake when he lunged at her, and Jin jumped up, letting him fall under her and she landed on top of him. Not having the desire to kill anyone, she smashed the hilt of her blade against his skull and it knocked him unconcious.

"Jin!" shouted a voice from above. She looked up and spotted Koji standing there. "We're winning! Almost all of the Dai Li outside have been aprehended, along with the firebenders!" Jin smiled at this, hope growing inside of her, but it was short lived. A blast of fire flew past her face and she turned to see a firebender coming at her. She hadn't fought one yet, and she wasn't entirely sure of what to do, but went into battle with him anyway, knowing there was no other choice.  
----

Zuko had been fighting along the stairs when he had heard the voice shout out, "Jin! We're winning!" That had been enough. When he got the chance, he glanced over and spotted her, fighting a Fire Nation soldier. For a moment it was as if nothing else around him existed, and he nearly got killed by the earthbender he'd been fighting because of this.

He twisted around, throwing his opponent over the stairs, and then jumped down, running after the firebender that was now pursuing Jin, who had fled down a hall.

----

It hadn't taken long before Jin realized she was no match for the man fighting her, and so the only thing she could think to do now was run for her life. She fled down the hall, the sound of her attacker's footsteps following her, and she twisted down a corridor, wishing that Iroh was with her now to help her. She burst through a door but ended up in another room with no way out but the way she had come in.

The firebender bursted in with a dark smile on his face and his aimed to hit her. Jin bit her lip, and lunged at him, trying desperately to get in a stab. The firebender was too quick, and fired at her without hesitation. She barely escaped his blows, and one of them blasted the broadswords from her hands.  
She stood there, without a weapon in reach, and backed up, staring up at him with fear in her eyes. This was it, she thought. She was going to die.

The man raised his hand to attack and she closed her eyes and dropped to her knees, waiting for it. There came a loud blast and the smell of smoke, but when Jin felt nothing hit here she opened her eyes in time to see the soldier in front of her fall dead. Behind him stood a man in the shadows,  
smoke coming out of his fingertips and she stared at him wide-eyed, her pulse racing in her veins.

----

Zuko stood trembling. What had happened had felt like he'd done it involuntarily. He'd seen Jin drop to her knees in surrender, and he'd seen the firebender raise his hand to attack her... and without thinking twice he fired lightning at him and killed him instantly. It wasn't till he'd seen the body collapse to the ground that he realized what he'd done and he stared at Jin speechless, knowing she couldn't make out his face in the shadows.

She got to her feet, grabbing for the broadswords, and held one out at him as she drew closer, not sure of who he was or if he could be trusted. Zuko stood still and once she saw who he was, rather than attacking as he half expected her to do, she stood motionless, lowering the blade. "Z-Zuko?" she stuttered.

In the halls he could hear firebending soldiers coming, and he grabbed Jin by the wrist, dragging her out of there and running to the nearest exit he could find. He knew that once they found the body, she'd be blamed and killed for it by soldiers who would not hesitate... and if he was caught standing there with her and doing nothing, he'd more than likely be killed as well. All he could do now was run and drag Jin along with him.  
----

(A/N: Hate to leave it there but I'm afraid I have places to go, so R&R and I will update tomorrow.)


	20. Chapter 20

(A/N: I'll probably go back an redo the previous chapter. I was being rushed to finish it and get off the computer so that I ended up just trying to cut to the chase and ended up with a bit of a "skeleton chapter", you know, not a lot of meat on it. I hope to have time soon to go back and fix it, prefferably before this fic draws to a close. Till then, we'll keep moving on. Writing again from a church sermon, Smeagol's girl risks her eternal salvation, lol! For the record I really am a good Christian girl, I just have a hard time staying awake during most sermons.) 

She wanted to tear away. She wanted to break free from his grip, but she didn't even struggle. She just let herself get dragged off, running blindly to wherever he was taking her. The look on his face when he'd killed that soldier was one she'd never seen before. It was fear mixed with anger which burned intensely in his eyes. At first she hadn't recognized him since his clothing was different and his hair had grown and was now worn differently, but she recognized the scar, perhaps the one thing on him that would never change.

Zuko knew they needed to hide. If he had been seen saving her, God alone knew what his father... or even Azula, would do. He was very certain that they had gotten out without being spotted, but he still felt they'd be safer the further away they got.  
----

Azula had been rushed away from the palace and on one of the war ships before any of the earthbenders could hurt or kill her. The surviving firebenders boarded with her and they fled, cursing the second time Ba Sing Se had beaten them. The Dai Li would no doubt be killed or imprisoned, but they didn't care. What mattered to them now was to save their own skins.

"Princess Azula," said one of the generals, and the angered princess turned to look at him.

"What do you want?"

"We took a quick count... twenty Fire Nation soldiers are missing still, probably dead." Azula waved it off, turning around.

"I care not how many men we've lost at the moment, general," she said coldly.

"Your brother, Prince Zuko, is among the missing."

Azula froze and turned around. "Zuko is missing?"

"We have more news. We apprehended someone we've been hunting for a while..." He signalled two guards over, dragging a struggling prisoner in chains. Azula smiled when she recognized him and walked over to him, giving him a mocking glance.

"Well well, look what the cat dragged in..." she said. "Uncle, it's been too long."

"Not nearly," spat Iroh.

"Don't worry. Our time together will be fairly short. My father has placed a price on your head so high nearly every bounty hunter was looking for you. Once he sees his own daughter caught you and he doesn't need to pay a thing, I think he'll feel gracious enough to simply fry you rather then slowly roast you on a stake." She signalled for him to be locked away behind metal bars, much stronger than the Earth Kingdom bars so there was no way he could break out.

"We also hunted for the girl," said the general. "There was no sign of her, and we think she fled like a coward." Azula's eyes narrowed.

Her brother was missing... and so was that girl. She immediatly put 2 and 2 together and turned to the general. "We'll find my brother," she said. "Send out word that my uncle has been captured at last. Make sure everyone in Ba Sing Se hears it. Then keep the ship just outside of Ba Sing Se's boarders. We'll give Zuzu a week, and if he doesn't show up, he is one of the dead and we leave him here."

"Yes, ma'am," said the general as he hurried off to carry out her orders. Azula smiled and looked out at the horizon. Once Zuko heard his uncle was captured he'd come running to the resque. And then, he'd be captured, chained, and brought before their father as the cowardly traitor he was. And then... he'd be killed, as punishment for the crime, along with that girl of his,  
and she would become the rightful heir to the throne.  
----

Zuko stopped after nearly an hour of running. They had gone past the city's borders and were in the middle of nowhere it seemed. Jin was greatful she had spent all that time exercising or else this trip would have taken a toll on her. Still, her senses had started to come back and when he stopped she jerked her hand away and drew her blades, panting angrily.

"Why did you bring me here?!" she shouted. All her anger she had felt towards him had come back, and she wasn't going to let him off the hook. Zuko was too busy catching his breath to respond, but he did look up at her. "How dare you! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" She turned around and shook her head. "You're such a bad person, Zuko! They told me you were dead. And then I learn you're... you! And now..." she looked for the words. "And now I wish you really had been dead." Her words burned and he stood up fully, giving her a dark look.

"Really?" he hissed, a hint of anger entering his voice.

"Yes really!" she shouted. "Because being dead is better then being who you are!"

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?!" he shouted, and she jumped back, surprised at his sudden outburst. He stood there panting, giving her a deadly look and she stared at him, finding her voice again.

"You're pathetic!" she spat. "And a coward!"

"You forgot cursed," he said, turning from her. "I saved your life, Jin."

"And I'm supposed to be greatful?!" she snapped.

"Yes! Most people would be!"

"Well thank you then!" she half screamed. "Thank you for leaving me here, lying to me, and then coming back at the last minute to save my skin while killing my people in the process! How ever can I repay you oh wonderful one?!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" he growled.

"Do you even know what I'm talking about?! Do you have any idea what you put me through?!" He stared at her, knowing he deserved all that she already was, and was about to spew on him. "I liked you... a lot! I may have even started to feel a little more than that... and then I find out you're not Lee, the nice boy who lives with his uncle near a tea shop, but Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation!" Tears formed in her eyes. "Everything... all of it was a lie! Everything I felt, everything you said, it was all a lie and I fell for it!"

"And that's what you think then?" he asked, giving her a dangerous look. "Because I don't have the name you think I had, everything from then on was a lie? You're even going to deny your own feelings?!"

"I didn't fall for you!" she screamed. "I fell for Lee! And as far as I'm concerned he really is dead! Dead and rotting beneath the ground!"

"Then God save him!" roared Zuko.

Jin gritted her teeth and took a fighting stance. "You can die too for all I care!" and with that she leapt at him, swinging at him. Zuko turned around in time to dodge her attack, and without thinking he hurled fire at her. She dodged and attacked again. The firebender she had run into earlier had been beyond her, but her anger with Zuko was strong enough that she didn't care.  
She just wanted to make him suffer the way she had.

"Are those my blades?" he called before she could attack again, but she didn't answer him. When she leapt over his head he got a good glimpse at them and sneered. "They are, you little theif!"

"Come and take them back then!" she hissed, and sprung at him again. He blasted at her and she tripped as she avoided it, falling to the ground and rolling away. Jin felt a burning sensation on her leg and she looked down at it, seeing she had in fact been burnt. She didn't care though. Her anger was blinding and she leapt to her feet, charging at Zuko. He made to fire at her again, but the was more careful to dodge, and then, rather than going strait at him as she had before, she landed on the side, twisting around behind him, and she kicked the backs of his knees, making him fall to his knees.

Not waisting time, she grabbed on to his topknot and yanked his head back, holding the blade against his throat. Zuko closed his eyes, and rather than fighting back he simply waited. Jin tightened her grip on the handle, ready to drag the blade across but she stopped when she saw the peace on his face. He knew he was going to die, there was no doubt about it, but there was almost the appearence of wanting it to happen, like he was counting on her to end his life right there and make it all end.

"My nephew is not the villain you think he is. He's a very complicated, confused, and, to be honest, hurting individual..."

Jin closed her eyes, remembering Iroh's words and how he'd pleaded with her. "Anger is a powerful emotion. Don't let it control you, young Jin." Her tears fell and she pulled the blade away from him, sheathing both of them and stepping away. She walked a good ten feet away from him and sank to the ground, burrying her face in her knees and weeping. Above her the sky was grey, and it came as no surprise to Zuko when it began to rain.

He got to his feet and stared at the broken girl who was sobbing miserably not too far away. He lowered his eyes and felt a stab of guilt, acknowledging again that he had done that. Every word she had fired at him had been true, and as he looked at her leg he'd burned, he realized it didn't matter whether or not he was near her or away from her. He was always hurting her, and he always would it seemed. It was a curse.

The rain picked up rather quickly and there was a blast of lightning. He walked over to Jin and picked her up, knowing her leg was probably too sore to walk on now that her anger wasn't distracting her from it. He just scooped her up and carried her away to a nearby cave, and slipped in with her, out of the rain and away from the storm.

She was still sobbing and now shivering from cold, and he started up a fire to warm them both up. Then he looked at her leg, knowing it would get infected if they didn't at least wrap it in something. He ripped off one of his sleeves, and wrapped it carefully around the injury, Jin sitting there quietly the entire time. "The storm shouldn't last long," he said to her when he was done. "As soon as it's over you'll have to go home and make sure a doctor looks at this."

"What about you?" she asked, sniffling. "Where will you go?"

"I don't know," he answered. Then it dawned on him that he had nowhere to go. He'd killed a Fire Nation soldier... one of his own men! And he'd help save the enemy. What had he been thinking? He could not return home, he couldn't stay here now that everyone knew his face... there was nowhere left to hide. "Oh God..." he muttered falling back so he was sitting on the floor. "I can't go anywhere! Not home... I can't stay here..." He felt like he was going to be sick.

"I'm sure you'll find someplace to go," said Jin, no sympathy in her voice. "You'll find some place to disappear to and we'll both go on pretending the other doesn't exist." She folded her arms and leaned back against the wall. "Just pretend nothing ever happened."

"Nothing did happen, Jin," he said, looking up at her while tending the fire. "We went out once, and after that we just hung out... as friends."

"You told me once you liked me," she said softly.

"I did then," he answered, looking down at the fire again.

"Then..." she mimicked, rolling her eyes. "What changed, Zuko?"

He didn't know how to answer her. "It's..."

"Complicated?" she finished for him. "That's convenient."

"Well what about you?!" he snapped. He moved over to where she was and grabbed on to her wrists, looking her in the eye dangerously. She could feel his breath on her neck, and it sent a chill down her spine. "You had feelings too then," he hissed. "And now, not too long ago you say you hate me... and you want me dead." His stare was so intense she had to look away and he let her go, moving back to his original spot by the fire.

"I don't want you dead," she confessed after a moment. "I shouldn't have said that. I was just angry."

"But you hate me?" She didn't answer him. "I stopped liking you, but you went beyond that to hating me!"

"Well what did you expect me to do? You went from the boy I liked, to dead, to my biggest enemy I've ever known in a matter of days! How was I supposed to react?" He lowered his head and sighed.

"In a way, you were always my enemy," he said softly. "But I never hated you."

Jin closed her eyes as tears fell and she looked to the ground. "I wish things could go back to the way they were," she whispered. "When I was just the shy girl who hung out at your tea shop and you were the odd newcomer who couldn't juggle to save his life." He chuckled weakly at that, greatful he was finally able to look back on that memory and smile rather than feel embarassed.

She smiled through tears and looked away. Zuko glanced outside. "The rain's letting up," he said softly. "You'll need to leave soon." She nodded and stood up, standing at the mouth of the cave, waiting for it to stop. Her leg was still hurting badly, but there wasn't much more she could do about it now. When the rain finally stopped she turned to say goodbye, but when she looked at him she realized having to say it again was going to be too painful, despite how angry she may have felt before. She really didn't want to have to say it again.

So she just left, and Zuko let her go, not saying a word of goodbye to her either.  
----


	21. Chapter 21

(A/N: A heads up for those of you who are checking up on this fic daily, I probably won't be as consistent with the updates this week because my teachers are so stupid. Instead of giving us a final exam at the end of the year, like you usually get, we're getting final projects because they thought it would be "easier" for us. Which sounds nice. But the problem is they all have to be done by FRIDAY!!! So now I've got to write a children's book on the respiratory system for advanced bio with illustrations –no joke!-, I have to write a 2-3 page paper on censorship and make up a power point presentation on it for government, and I have to photograph all my artwork, upload it into a computer, make a video of it with voiceover, and set up my part of the senior art show, all by FRIDAY!!! I swear my teachers want to kill me, and if I fail at the end of the year, no matter how good I was doing before, if my grade is bad for the last quarter, I will start my freshmen year in college on academic probation. So chapters may not be cranked out as consistently this week. I hope you'll all be able to understand. Oh, and to start off this chapter I suggest listening to the song '9 Crimes' by Damien Rice while reading it. I'll put in the first few lyrics at the beginning, but it's really what helped influence me and create the flow of this chapter.) 

"Leave me out with the waste/ This is not what I do/ It's the wrong kind of place/ To be thinking of you/ It's the wrong time for somebody new/ It's a small crime/ And I've got no excuse/ Is that all right?/ Give my gun away when it's loaded/ Is that all right?/ If you don't shoot it, how am I supposed to hold it?/ Is that all right?/ Give my gun away when it's loaded/ Is that all right/ With you?"

It took a long time since she wasn't running now, but Jin managed to get herself home before the second wave of the storm hit. She knew when the skies didn't clear up that it would start raining again soon, but it did not make her speed up her pace at all. Her head was racing with thoughts, and she couldn't get any of them off of Zuko.

A few minutes ago she'd been angry with him, even ready to kill him, but the look on his face when she'd almost done it…

She had never really wondered much about it before, but his scar came to her mind, and for the first time she tried to think of where it could have come from. Her best guess was a duel gone bad, or perhaps a training accident. He never really spoken about it, so she had always pretended not to care. But for some reason, now more than ever, she wanted to know what had happened. She knew it probably would explain a whole part of who he was and why he'd turned out the way he had.

"You always were my enemy," she remembered him saying. "But I never hated you."

She closed her eyes, tears forming again. He'd been untruthful in a lot of things, but he'd never lied about his feelings towards her. She wished she could take all the bad that was happening now and make it go away, and make it so they could be together, whether as friends or lovers, without fear of being persecuted for it.

When she arrived to her house, her mother was standing outside, talking to a neighbor, and her brother and father were outside in the yard, preparing the ground for some overdue gardening. Her mother glanced up at her and smiled widely at her, running up to her and embracing her. "Jin!" she cried, tears falling down her face. "Thank God!"

Jin forced a smile for her mother, but looked at the ground. She had nothing in her mind right now that made her want to thank God for anything that had happened.  
----

Zuko was stuck inside the cave through the second wave of the storm, but it passed after a while he was able to leave and head into the far boundaries of the city, knowing there would be fewer people there and he'd be able to get a different pair of clothing to at least get him out of his Fire Nation garb,  
which would give him away in a more crowded place. He changed his clothing, bought himself a hot meal, then found a small inn he could take refuge in for the night.

As he paid and received his room key the man behind the counter looked up at him and with a smile said, "You may want to consider a mask to cover over that scar." At first Zuko thought the man was making fun of him, and he gave him a very angry look. "No! I didn't mean that, sir," said the man quickly, stepping back and holding his hands in front of him to show he meant no harm. "I'm saying you almost bare a striking resemblance to that Fire Nation prince who was on the wanted posters along with his uncle a few months ago. And after what just happened I'm sure they're doubling their efforts to find him." Zuko made a face.

"After what just happened?" he asked.

"Oh you didn't hear?" said the man, raising his eyebrows. "That Fire Nation general… Iroh, was that his name? He was captured this morning."

"What?!" cried Zuko without thinking, staring at the man who jumped back in shock at his reaction.

"Apparently the Fire Nation soldiers caught him this morning. And they say his nephew is always near him, so people around here are going to be looking extra hard."

Zuko stepped away, holding his room key tightly in his hand. "Oh God"  
he muttered.

"I wouldn't worry about it," said the man. "Other than your scar, you look nothing like that man. How'd you get that anyway?"

"I have to go," he said, and hurried up to his room.  
----

Zuko did not stay long in the inn. Even though the keeper was very dense, he knew he wouldn't be so lucky with the other people in the city, so he rested for a few hours, and then slipped out through a window, leaving the door locked so no one would be entering that room for a while. He had to get on one of those Fire Nation ships to save his uncle, and from what he'd heard from the inn keeper, they hadn't left Ba Sing Se's borders yet. In fact, they'd been staying nearby incase he turned up, but he still was unsure if they'd be waiting to arrest him, or welcome him. There had been no talk of them knowing what he'd done, and if they really didn't know, he would be able to get on the ship with no problem. But if they did know… Well, he'd worry about that later.

He knew whereabouts the ship was hovering, and he would have to travel through Ba Sing Se and to the other side to reach it, and he would have to be very careful if the hunt for him had really picked up. He waited till it was dark out before traveling down any main streets, and it was fairly easy to go by unnoticed since no one was about.

It wasn't very long before he passed the old tea shop he and his uncle had first been employed in. Soon he'd pass the Jasmine Dragon, which had been long closed and out of business. And then came the fountain he and Jin had spent so much time at… and he paused, noticing the lamps weren't lit.  
Everything in this city had been dark for too long, and he looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching him. Moving fast, he lit every one of them, then smiled as the lights reflected off the water. It really was beautiful, and he'd missed the sight of it.

He remembered the last time he'd been there with Jin, how he'd told her about how worried he'd been about what was coming, and how she had tried to tell him it would all work out and it was all in his head. He closed his eyes and lowered his head. She'd been very wrong, and their lives really hadn't been the same since. As he thought about it, things had been worse for her than him. She lost her city, her family, and both he and Iroh in a matter of days. He could hardly begin to imagine how awful that had been, and he regretted now more than ever leaving her like that without warning.

Then it hit him. That was exactly what he was about to do again now, leave without saying goodbye. And he didn't know if he'd see her again. Leaving just like that was not what he wanted to do, so, knowing he only had a few more hours of night left, he hurried over to Jin's house, hoping she had gotten back there all right. He got up to the door, then, realizing he couldn't just knock on the door, especially not now that her parents were back, he went around to the windows and peaked in, trying to spot out where she was. The first room had a young man in it, a few years older than himself, and he figured it was her brother. The next was her parents bedroom. Finally, he reached a window and when he looked in he saw her sleeping soundly in the shadows. For a moment, he didn't want to wake her. She looked at peace there, and it was probably for the first time in a while.

But he wanted to say goodbye, so he gently tapped on the window, being careful not to wake anyone else. Jin stirred a little, but when she made no sign of getting up he tapped again. She twisted her head around and glanced up at him sleepily. "Who's there?" she yawned, sitting up to get a better look. "Zuko?" She walked over and opened the window. "What do you want?"

"I'm leaving," he said softly, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"What?" she asked. "Where?"

"On a Fire Nation ship," he answered and her eyes darkened, ideas of what he was up to already forming in her head. "They have my uncle, Jin."

"No!" she gasped, putting at hand over her mouth.

"If they get him back to the Fire Nation… they'll execute him. I have to break him out."

"You're going alone?"

"I have to," he answered.

"But if they catch you-"

"They won't," he said. "The Fire Nation took my mother from me. They're not taking my uncle." There was an intense look in his eyes, and she frowned.

"What about you?" she asked, softly.

"I'll be fine," he assured her.

"And will I see you again?" He lowered his eyes. "Zuko!"

"I don't know," he answered, unable to look at her. She looked down and he reached out to touch her face. She closed here eyes and leaned in to his hand, reaching her own up to touch his. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I wish I had been there for you… when you were crying in the dark." Jin bit her lip, feeling tears form behind her eyes.

"I don't hate you," she said softly.

"I know," he said with a small nod.

"I hate what you're about to do," she admitted with a shrug. "But I don't hate you." He smirked at that response and nodded again in understanding.

"I know."

"Will you at least try to come back?" she asked. He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"I'll see what I can do," he answered. She sighed, glancing behind her as if to make sure no one was looking -it'd be ridiculous for anyone else to be up this late- and she climbed out the window, taking Zuko's hands as he helped her up. When she landed on her bad leg, she grunted in pain, remembering the burn and Zuko felt the guilt again. She quickly diverted his attention from it, though, by wrapping her arms around him in an embrace.

"You'll probly want your blades back," she muttered.

"Keep them," he said softly. "Hold on to them for me, all right?" A thought occured to him and he stepped back from her, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the small dagger his uncle had given him years ago. "Have this too."

She laughed. "You think I'm in danger or something? All these blades?"

"No," he answered, smiling a little bit at the humor of it. "Read the inscription." She pulled it out and read it, then looked up at him.

"Property of the Earth Kingdom?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The other one!" he groaned, rolling his eyes, making a mental note that he really needed to be more specific. She flipped the blade over and read it.

"Don't give up without a fight." She smiled at him and nodded. "Thanks." She wrapped her arms around him again and hugged him. "Promise me you'll come back for the broadswords some day." He nodded into her shoulder.

"I'll try," he whispered. "And you take care of yourself. Until the Earth King is back in power and everything's back to normal, Ba Sing Se will probably be a little... unstable to say the least." She nodded. He held her a little tighter. "I really mean it. Take care of yourself." She nodded again.

"I will." He pulled back a little and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes at his touch, feeling chills go down her spine. He pulled away fully and looked at her one last time.

"Goodbye," he whispered, and he left, hurrying off in the darkness. Jin stood there, hugging herself and clutching the dagger tightly in her hand.

A tear rolled down her face as she recalled Iroh's song she'd heard him sing several times. "Brave soldier boy... is coming home... Brave soldier boy... is coming home"  
----


	22. Chapter 22

(A/N: I'm running on fumes, but I had to get this chapter out of my system,  
so I hope you like it :).) 

Azula waited at the ship like a cat waiting for the mouse to finally crawl out of its hole. She had dangled out the bait, and rather than needing the full week she'd set aside, she was pleased to see it only took a day and a half before Zuko showed up. "Your brother is coming," said one of the generals. "What would you like us to do?" She smiled, not really being one to cut to the chase.

"Welcome him aboard," she answered. "Treat him kindly until we're near the island, and then chain him. We'll let my father deal with him after that."

"Yes, ma'am," said the general, and he saw to it that the ramp was lowered to let the prince on. Azula walked up to him, putting on her mask of lies,  
and smiled.

"Zuzu, you made it!" she said.

"Don't call me that!" he snapped.

"We were hoping you'd survived, after you went missing," said the general with a bow. "Where did you go?"

"Yes, Zuzu," said Azula. "Where did you go?"

Zuko looked at them and felt a rush of relief. They didn't know! "I found that girl," he answered. "I chased her down, away from the battle."

"Really?" asked Azula, her tone giving away that she didn't really believe him.

"I killed her," he said coldly. Azula's face changed and the others stared at him. "She fought with me, but in the end…" his voice trailed off and he remained very careful not to show any emotion. Azula stared at him, almost seeming stunned and he smiled inwardly. For once he'd been the better liar.

Whatever had come over his sister soon passed and she went back to her normal cold face. "Well… even so, father won't like how long it took you to get back here," she replied cooly. "We need to head home now."

"What's the rush?" Zuko asked, heading down below deck. "You think he's going to welcome us after we failed so badly?" He didn't give her time to answer and left without another word.  
----

Late in the afternoon there came a commotion that brought Jin and Koji out of their house to see what was going on. "The flying bison!" shouted a woman. "It's the avatar!"

Jin smiled and looked to her brother. Koji did not share her excitement but said in a sarcastic tone, "How kind of him to return after things stopped being bad." He turned and walked into the house but Jin still watched with a smile. She knew this meant the Earth King was returning as well and things would be soon be restored to normal. She turned and headed back inside after a few minutes and told her mother the news.

Within an hour, word spread that the Earth King had returned to power and was already planning out the final war against the fire nation. The avatar and his friends did not step outside for a while, having so much to do when they got back. Jin wanted to meet them, mostly to see what the avatar was really like, but also because if they were going to the Fire Nation, she wanted to go to. Even though she trusted Zuko, she had done nothing but worry about him since he left, and now that she knew Iroh was in prison as well, she had become almost restless. The feeling of not wanting to do nothing had come back, and she wanted to fight again to free both of them like she had for her parents.

Approaching the avatar on this issue would more than likely be easier said than done, but she knew she had to do it. When she overheard that the avatar and his friends were out exploring the city, she left her house, not telling her parents what she was up to. She ran about the city, looking around for the group, but from what she couldn't find them. She went into all the shops, all the corners of the city, and ran around until she was tired, but still couldn't find them. The tea shop was only a minute away and she decided to take a break there for a few minutes. She knew if Iroh were there he'd encourage her into a nice cup of tea as well.

When she got there, she was surprised to find it was crowded, but spotted a young woman sitting alone and approached her. "Do you mind if I join you?" she asked. "The place seems rather full..." The girl looked up with a smile and nodded.

"Of course! Sit right down!" she said. Jin smiled, relieved this girl was friendly.

"Thanks," she said. "Has the host been around yet?"

"Not yet," said the girl. "I just got here a few minutes ago myself with my brother and two friends."

"Where are they?" asked Jin.

"Over there, looking at what pastries are available," sighed the girl, pointing to them lazily. "Don't know why they're bothering to look when they're probably going to order them all anyway." Jin laughed, not looking over to see who the friends were. It was pretty certain she wouldn't recognize them anyway. She stretched out her arms and relaxed a little into her chair. "Long day?" asked the girl.

"Yeah," answered Jin. "Been all over the city... on a wild goose chase I guess you could say." She gave a stiffled laughed and sat upright a little more so she wasn't so slumped.

"Us to," said the girl. "But we're just exploring the city."

"Have you been here before?" she asked.

"Yeah," answered the girl. "It's been a little while though." She glanced up at three people approaching the table and sighed. "Finally decide on something?" she asked.

"We ordered everything," said a young man, who looked older than her but very similar to her. It had to be the brother. The other two were a young blind girl, and a bald-headed boy with an arrow on his head. Jin's eyes popped open.

"I knew you would!" snapped the young woman, not noticing Jin's expression. "Why do you even bother? You're gonna make yourselves sick!"

"You say that everytime," said the brother with a casual grin, lounging back in his chair.

"And she's always right," admitted the other boy. Jin sat speechless, and the young woman finally noticed.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"You're..." stuttered Jin, looking right at the boy. "You're the avatar!" She felt overwhelmed with joy after searching around so much that she almost lost it. Plus she knew she'd finally found the one who could help her get to Zuko, which only added to her emotions. "I've been looking all over the city for you!"

Aang stared at her blankly and there was an awkward silence. "Helloooo!" said the brother after a moment. "Aren't you gonna introduce us?"

"Uh, sorry!" said Aang, still seeming surprised by Jin's sudden outburst. "These are my friends Sokka, Katar, and Toph. And I'm Aang... the avatar."

"I'm Jin," she said quickly, now completely ignoring everyone else at the table. "I need your help!"

"Doesn't everyone?" said Sokka, still having a very casual tone to him. Katara nudged him.

"What do you need, Jin?" she asked. Jin looked at them, then suddenly realized she had made a big mistake. The man she was after was the one who had been their enemy. The last thing they would do was help him.

"I-" she stammered, searching for the words. "I know you're going to fight the Fire Nation soon," she said. "There's been rumors that you'll be attacking on the day of black sun."

"People know?!" said Aang, seeming very surprised.

"What do you want, Jin?" asked Katara again.

"I... I want to go with you," she said. Katara looked at her in surprise, along with Aang. Toph just stared on blindly while Sokka suddenly pointed at her, Jin.

"Hey, I know you!" he said. "You're the girl who lead the uprising aren't you?" he asked. "I mean you'd have to be. She's the only one who'd want to go with us to fight the Fire Nation."

"Yeah," said Jin. "That's me."

"Oh my gosh, I had no idea!" said Katara. "But... I'm not sure you want to go with us. I mean, this will be a larger battle than last time and..."

"I don't want to go to fight," said Jin. "There's someone there... someone I have to help."

Katara looked at her in sympathy. "The Fire Nation have him imprisoned"  
she asked.

"In a way," said Jin with a slight nod.

"I'm really sorry to hear that," said Aang.

"I wouldn't be in the way," pleaded Jin. "I'd help in any way you'd want, and I am a good fighter. I can fight if you need me to."

"I don't know..." said Katara. "It'll be very dangerous..."

"And the battle that happened here a few days ago was safe?!" she cried in frustration. They stared at her and she calmed herself down. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "It's just... it's been rough."

"I understand," said Katara. "We just need some time to discuss it." Jin lowered her head in dispair.

"I really need this you guys," she said softly, then looked up at them. "He means the world to me. I need to help him." Katara opened her mouth to say something but Toph spoke up.

"She's not lying, you guys," she said. "In fact... she's underexaggerating."

"You can sense that?" asked Sokka, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"I sense a lot of things," she said, lounging back cooly.

"Please," begged Jin. "I really need this." Katara looked like she didn't know how to answer so she turned to Aang. Aang sighed and nodded, giving Jin an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, Jin," he said. "You can come with us and we'll help you find him." Jin knew immediatly that was a bad idea. They couldn't find out who it was.

"Listen," she said. "You'll have enough problems. Just get me there and I'll take care of what I need to do." They looked at her, but Aang answered for them.

"All right. But, incase you don't want to face this alone, we'll be there to help if you like."

"I appreciate the offer," she said, standing up. "But this is something I'll need to do alone. I'll pay you for the trip though to make things fair. I have to go now. Thanks again, and goodbye." She left them and they sat there, looking at each other for a minute.

"You're sure about this, Aang?" asked Katara.

"I guess so," said Aang with a shrug. "I mean... Toph said she was pretty serious." He glanced at the blind earthbender who shrugged.

"Guys... there's something I sensed something with her..." she said. "She's being honest but dishonest at the sametime... I can't explain it."

"And no one asked my opinion!" pointed out Sokka.

"Can we trust her?" asked Katara, completely ignoring Sokka.

"I guess so," said Toph. "I mean... I sensed she was safe."

"I think she is too," said Aang. "And she's got someone she loves imprisoned by the Fire Nation. We can't do nothing." Katara smiled.

"You can't solve all the world's problems, Aang," she said softly.

"Yeah... but I can try"  
----


	23. Chapter 23

(A/N: Allo, poppets! Pirates 3 rocked, so go see it!) 

Jin had to grab on to the side of Appa's saddle when the great bison took off. Flying like this was something she was not used to, but her fear quickly melted into facination. The clouds whizzing by and the breeze in her face made her smile. The others were all lounging, obviously used to this, except for Toph. Jin imagned that being blind would make the journey terrifying, but she seemed to manage... once she got a strong grip on the edges of Appa's saddle.

"So," said Katara, scooting over to talk to Jin. "Who's this guy you're trying to save?"

"Uh..." stammered Jin, "...a really good friend."

"Oh," said Katara. "Like a childhood friend?"

"No, we met a few months ago. We're close though." Katara smiled.

"That's nice," she said. "Is he your age?"

"I think so," said Jin, now realizing she'd never asked his age. She'd always just assumed he was her age, or close to it at least.

"Well, won't your family worry about you?" asked Katara. Jin shook her head.

"They probably don't even know I'm gone yet..." she muttered.

"What?!" cried Aang from the front. "You snuck out?!"

"Her family's not going to come chasing after us will they?" asked Sokka. "Cuz I'm really not up for being chased right now."

"They wouldn't even know where to begin looking," said Jin. "Don't worry about it. What's done is done." None of them, except for Toph, looked easy about this.

"Why didn't you tell them you were leaving?" asked Katara.

"You honestly think they'd let me go?" cried Jin. "Especially after all that's happened in our city? They're more protective than ever. They'd never allow this."

"But if you told them who you were doing this for, I'm sure they would understand..." said Katara.

"That would have made it worse," she answered, not stopping herself in time. They all looked at her suspiciously.

"Why?" asked Katara. "Do they not like him?"

"Is it a boyfriend?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow and giving her a mischevious grin.

"No!" snapped Jin. Toph smirked from where she sat clinging on.

"She's lying," she said.

"Am not," said Jin. "He's not my boyfriend... but I do like him... a lot..." She wrapped her arms around her legs and tucked her knees under her chin. "I'd have to wouldn't I? To be going out like this..." Katara nodded.

"I understand," she said. "But for clarification... he's not a bad person is he?"

"No," said Jin, shaking her head. "I mean... he's not perfect, and he has made some mistakes in the past, but he's truly a good person."

"Don't worry, Katara," said Sokka. "I doubt he's anything like the nut jobs we've met in our time."

"It's not like it's someone like Zuko," added Aang, lauging a little at the thought. Sokka chuckled a little too and it made Jin wonder what was so absurd about her and Zuko being together. But she shrugged.

"No," she answered. "It's not him at all." Katara smiled.

"Not that I was ever worried that it was, but good." Jin smiled and relaxed into the saddle, now slightly bored with watching the scenery pass by. As she rested back she had noticed Toph had made a slight movement at her words, but it may have only been to adjust her death grip on the saddle.  
----

"No matter how much things may seem to change, never forget who you are!"

Zuko snapped awake, sweat pouring down his face. His heart was pounding and his body was shaking. His mother had been standing two feet away not too long ago. He'd felt her there, seen her, even smelled her. Even though he was awake, the dream had been realistic enough for him to wonder for a while if it really had been a dream.

The boat rocked slightly and he felt his stomach start to turn. Not thinking to just grab a bucket, he ran out of the room, up to the deck, and bent over the edge, heaving chunks into the waters below. "Well that was lovely," said a voice and he turned around, wiping his mouth, wishing he could wash the awful taste out. "Does poor Zuzu have a weak stomach?" she mocked.

"What do you want?" he asked. He gagged again, thinking he was about get sick again, but it passed and he was able to remain facing her.

"I guess you would be sick, after what you did to that poor girl." There was something in her eyes that he couldn't quite read. A hint of treachery mixed with something else. Fear? "You never told me how you killed her, Zuko."

"What does it matter?" he asked.

"You've never killed anyone, not even a fly. How do I know you really know how to kill?" He realized now what she was doing. She was still unsure if she believed his lie and was now trying to get the truth out of him. He couldn't let it work.

"You taught me well enough," he said darkly, and left to go below deck before she could try anything.  
----

"What on earth happened to your leg?" gasped Katara. Jin glanced down and realized her burn was slightly exposed.

"It happened during the battle," she said, drawing her leg up to cover the burn. "It doesn't hurt much."

"She's lying," said Toph, and Jin rolled her eyes, annoyed with the little lie detector clinging on to Appa's saddle.

"I can heal that for you," said Katara. "Just hold still a second..." She opened her pouch of water, and it came slithering out like a snake. Jin stared in fascination, having never seen a waterbender up close before. She held the water over the burn and it began to glow. A strange tingly sensation went through Jin's leg and the skin seemed to crawl across, reconnecting itself, and the entire burn vanished.

"Thanks," she said softly. "That's... that's pretty neat." Katara smiled and sent the water back into her pouch.

"Just don't drink her water," said Sokka, glancing up. "You don't wanna know where all it's been."

"So," said Jin, cutting in before Katara could fire something back at her brother. "How long till we get there?"

"Two days at the fastest," said Aang, glancing behind himself from the reigns. "We've been there before, but not to the prison."

"Prison?" asked Jin.

"They said there's a large prison somewhere in the Fire Nation, larger than the one they kept all those earthbenders not too long ago," said Katara. "And it's not far from where the where we're supposed to attack."

"Just you guys?" asked Jin.

"No," said Aang. "The Earth King's getting an army ready as we speak. They'll be aiding us in the battle and shouldn't be there more than a day after us."

"Gives us time to get a general run of the land and see where our attack should be set," said Sokka.

"I'm sure your friend would be in that prison," said Katara.

"No," said Jin. "He's not there. He's in the Fire Nation palace."

"I doubt it," said Katara.

"No, I know he is. You'll have to trust me."

"Getting into the palace will be very difficult," said Aang.

"Just leave me near the border then," said Jin. "You're not going to be going in with me anyway." Katara looked at her unsure, and she sighed. "You'll have to trust me. I know he's in there. I can't explain how, I just do. Please. I need you to do this." Katara looked down.

"She's being honest you guys," said Toph. "I think you should listen."

"Fine," said Katara. "But I have a bad feeling about this." Jin sighed and looked out at the horizon. She'd had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach for weeks.  
----

Zuko and Azula were very quiet as they stepped off the war ship and into the Fire Nation. Neither of them were looking forward to facing their father, and they both knew it was going to end badly. Zuko had a feeling he was going to be exiled again, but he didn't care. He'd come to free his uncle and get back to Jin. Winning his father's approval was no longer a top priority, but he had to admit that it hadn't left the list entirely. In his heart he was beginning to understand that it was a desire that may never leave, mostly because it would never happen. Azula would be safe though. She was the favorite and born lucky. Their father wouldn't be as harsh with her.

Zuko cringed. As much as he hated his sister, a part of him pitied her for being corrupted at such a young age. The chances of her ever changing and truly seeing herself were slim, and he had a feeling she'd die before that would happen.

As they stepped through the great doors, a feeling of dread fell over Zuko. He knew he was walking into something dangerous, but he couldn't leave until he had his uncle safe. Whatever would come would come, but he couldn't lose sight on what needed to be done. And he couldn't forget about Jin, who would be waiting for him in Ba Sing Se. He knew he cared about her very deeply now, and being with her again was what he truly wanted.

For once he knew what he truly wanted.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Azula coldly and Zuko wiped the smile away. "You don't honestly think Father will welcome you with open arms, after that miserable failure. It won't matter that you killed the girl who started it, we still failed, and you'll be blamed because you vanished during the battle." Zuko looked at her angrily.

"And you'll be rewarded for a noble effort and still remain the one who's born lucky while I'm lucky to be born. Nothing will be different, Azula. Nothing will change." He looked away and stared at the floor as they came to a stop.

A servant came to them and bowed. "Your hignesses, Firelord Ozai is unavailable at the moment to welcome you back, but he does welcome you both, praising you both on a strong and valiant effort." Zuko winced. That sounded nothing like his father. "You both are to retire to your rooms and rest from the journey, and there will be a banquet held in your honor tonight." Azula nodded and went her way, but Zuko stood for a few minutes thinking before he left. Something was horribly wrong, and he knew whatever was coming was not going to be good.  
----

(A/N: Firelord Ozai being put out of character was done on purpose incase you haven't figured that out yet. I'm starting the next chapter up right now. R&R!)


	24. Chapter 24

(A/N: Sleep Don't Weep has the most hits in my stats list and is third in review alerts and faves. Booyah!) 

Zuko waited until practically no one was about and slipped down to the small prisons on the floor below. There was a large prison near the old battleground where theives, murderers, and common peasants that had commited treachery were kept, but he knew his uncle would be held in one of the palace prisons where anyone within the palace who had done wrong were kept. His father had threatened him several times that he would be thrown down there too one day, and Zuko was a little surprised that it hadn't happened yet.

It was so dark and dank down there, and the guards were few since the place was so small. But Zuko did expect at least one to be there, and he had been right. Standing a few cells down from Iroh's cell was a guard, watching around lazily. Zuko was behind him and was able to slip up close to him without being seen. Moving quickly, he made his left hand into a fist and pressed it into the palm of his right hand and tightly closed his fingers around the fist. He then struck the guard in the back of the head with his elbow and the guard fell hard, the blow knocking him unconcious.

Zuko stepped in front of the cell and looked down at his uncle, who was staring up at him in surprise. "Sort of like deja vu," Iroh muttered and Zuko smirked and nodded, bending down to get the keys from the guard.

"Things are a little different this time," said Zuko. "Get yourself out of here but not too far away." He opened the cell door and Iroh stepped out. "I'll be joining you at nightfall. I don't want to have to fight anyone to get out." Iroh smiled.

"You've chosen your path then?" he asked.

"I made a promise to someone," he said, dragging the guard into the cell and then locking him inside. "There's a young woman waiting for me in Ba Sing Se, and I promised I'd return to her." Iroh beamed at him.

"Then we'd better get you back to Jin as soon as possible shouldn't we?" He headed out and Zuko just stared at him.

"How'd you know it was Jin?" he asked. Iroh raised an eyebrow, letting Zuko know it was very obvious it would have happened sooner or later and he left him. The guard in the cell began to stir and Zuko hurried out the other exit, ignoring the sudden shouts for help behind him.  
----

It was near sunset when Appa finally landed a safe distance away from the palace, but close enough for it to be in veiw. Jin was quick to get off of Appa, eager to find Zuko as soon as she could, but when her feet hit the ground, the earth came up and around her ankles, trapping her. She fell over in surprise, catching herself in her palms, and she struggled to get up againg looking down at her trapped feet. They had not sunk down, but the earth itself had come around them and was now holding her tightly. She spun around and spotted Toph in an earthbending pose.

"Toph!" shouted Katara, staring at her in surprise. "What are you-"

"She's a liar!" shouted Toph. "Back when you Aang asked if she was off to save Zuko and she said no, she was lying!" Jin's eyes widened with fear and she stared at them, not knowing what to do. "She is here for Zuko!"

"Jin?" asked Katara.

"Let me go!" shouted Jin, covering her fear with anger as she tried to free herself.

"Is that true?" asked Aang. Tears filled Jin's eyes and she looked up at them in anger.

"Let me go!" she shouted again. Katara's eyes widened and Aang's jaw dropped. Sokka looked at her as if she had spiders crawling out of her ears, but Toph held her pose, keeping the earth around Jin's feet in place, her blind eyes focused on her in distrust. Katara, Aang, and Sokka all dismounted Appa and surrounded her. Sokka held out his boomerang threateningly and Aang took a fighting stance. Katara just stared at her, but kept one hand on her water pouch. Jin couldn't believe it. They were really going to fight her. Her cover had been blown and now she was the enemy.

"Please..." she begged, a tear falling. "You don't understand..."

"You're friends with that jerk," said Sokka. "There's not much else to know."

"Toph said you were hiding something," said Katara. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't help me. You wouldn't understand," said Jin. She wanted to draw her broadswords, but she knew that wouldn't help her at all so she made no appearance of being ready to fight, hoping that would be enough for them to realize she was safe. "Zuko's not the person you think he is," she tried to explain. "I know he's been your enemy for a long time, but he's not that way anymore."

"He's still with his sister," said Aang. "He's still the enemy."

"No he's not!" persisted Jin. "He didn't return to help his sister. He returned for something else. But I have a really bad feeling that he's in danger. That's why I wanted to come. I had to help him."

"Why would you help him?" asked Sokka, eyes narrowing. "The Fire Nation took over your city, put your family in prison, and he helped that."

"And I'm guessing he had something to do with the burn you had on your leg."

"No he didn't!" snapped Jin.

"She's lying!" shouted Toph and she made the earth around Jin's ankles rise up and around her thighs.

"He hurt you, Jin!" cried Katara. "He hurt you and betrayed you and you want to help him? Jin, he's not the kind of person you want to be with."

"It isn't like that!" shouted Jin. "You don't know him! You think you do, but you don't! You have no idea what you're talking about!" She began to weep miserably, unable to sink to her knees because of how she was trapped, but she hung her head in dispair as they all remained around her, none of them dropping their guard.  
----

Zuko grabbed what he needed, watching the sun set behind the mountains, and he got ready to slip out. He was almost gone when Azula stepped in and looked at him. "Father won't want to be kept waiting, Zuko!" she said darkly, and Zuko sighed. He hoped Iroh would wait for him and he followed Azula into the banquet hall. Just as they'd been told there was a large table set with the most delicious foods they could imagine. But the more Zuko stared at the banquet the less trust he felt. It was too extravagent a meal to be given after a failure. Something was up, and he knew he could not let his guard down. Azula seemed to be rather carefree, but Zuko had a bad feeling that she was no longer safe.

They sat down and a servant came to them. "Your father apologizes, he's running late. You are to begin without him." The servant left and Zuko narrowed his eyes. Azula began to fill her plate with food, but Zuko did not move.

"We can eat, Zuko," said Azula, glancing at him.

"I don't trust this," said Zuko. "I'm not eating anything until Father gets here." Azula shrugged.

"And you'll get in trouble for disobeying him again," she said with a malicious smile, and she began to eat. Zuko sat in place, waiting while Azula ate, but when his stomach began to rumble he began to debate on if one bite would really hurt anything. A halfhour went by when he gave up and reached for some meat, when Azula dropped her fork. Zuko glanced up at her and she looked at him blankly. Her face was very pale and sweaty, and she placed a hand on her stomach. Zuko began to rise from his seat.

"Azula?" he asked. Her eyes rolled around the room lazily and she glanced at him through heavy lids.

"Zuko..." she rasped. "Poison..." Before she had even begun to fall from her seat, Zuko had shot up from his and darted over to her, catching her before she hit the floor. She was unconcious and he shook her.

"Azula!" he shouted. "Azula!"

The door behind them opened and Zuko looked around. His father enetered through the shadows and looked down at Zuko, smiling darkly. "Not hungry?" he asked. Zuko looked up at him in anger.

"What did you do?!" he shouted.

"You think I would welcome you both home after the miserable failure at Ba Sing Se?" he said cooly. "You should never have come home!"

"What did you do?!" Zuko demanded again.

"I've poisened her. She'll be dead within the hour, and you won't last the next two minutes." Without warning, he fired a bolt of lightning at Zuko, who dodged it. The crash made Azula snap into conciousness again and she looked up at her father, who then pointed at her. Getting to her feet clumsily, she jumped out of the way, forcing herself into strength again, and she ran for the door.

"Keep running!" the firelord shouted behind her. "The faster your heart beats, the faster the poisen spreads through your veins!"

"You bastard!" shouted Zuko, and he stared at his father in absolute fury. Raising his fingers he fired a bolt of lightning at him, but it was dodged and a massive ball of fire was returned to him. Azula fired a blue fireball and it knocked their father off his feet. Zuko took advantage of this and fired another bolt of lightning. His father still managed to dodge it and he pointed to hit him. Zuko readied himself but his father paused, and with a menacing smile, he turned to Azula, who was starting to look very weak again and fired a massive wall of blue fire at her and it came crashing through her. She was unable to dodge it fully and it hit her right leg.

Azula screamed out in agony and fell, the clothing around her leg burned away and the flesh beneath red and raw. She tried to stand but couldn't and began to crawl for the exit, desperate to get away without being killed. The Firelord walked over to her, ready to kill her, but Zuko attacked. His anger and hatred with his father was blinding, and using all his energy he fired at him, but rather than redgular red hot fire shooting out, blue fire emmited from him and it knocked his father off the ground and sent him crashing into a wall.

Taking advantage of the few minutes he had, he ran to Azula, who was unconcious again and threw her over his shoulders, running for the exit and escaping the palace as fast as he could.  
----

Jin looked up when she heard footsteps and the others turned, all of them preparing to attack whoever was coming. "Stop!" shouted Jin when he was in veiw and they lowered their weapons. It was Iroh.

"You?" asked Katara. Iroh glanced at her and then at Jin.

"Jin! You made it here!" he cried, running to her. Jin wanted to run to him,  
but she couldn't, so she smiled instead.

"You're all right!" she said.

"You must come with me, all of you!" he said, looking at them. "Zuko's in trouble. I could hear the sounds of a struggle inside the palace. We need to get to him now before it's too late."

They didn't argue and they all mounted Appa. Jin wanted to know why they obeyed him and not her, but she decided to ask questions later. "Why are we always saving the guy who tried to kill us?" asked Sokka, but Aang already had Appa up in the air.

They didn't fly for long before they spotted the young man staggering away with his sister over his shoulders. "Oh no..." said Katara and Jin stared at them with large eyes.

"Zuko!" she shouted, and the man stopped, looking up at them. Aang landed Appa and Jin leapt down, running to Zuko. He looked unharmed, but his sister looked awful. "What happened?"

"We need to get as far away from here as possible!" he said, not wanting to argue with the only help he had now. They helped him get Azula onto Appa and the flew away for several miles. As they flew Jin stared at Azula as Zuko told them all what had happened.

"She'll be dead in an hour if we don't stop the poison," said Zuko. "And I think her time's been shortened even more from all the running and fighting."

"Katara, can you heal this?" asked Sokka, turning to his sister.

"I think I can," she said, and she pulled out the vial of water from the north pole, which they had refilled in their recent travels before returning the Earth King. She poured it into her hand and it began to glow. Being gentle, she pressed it down on Azula's stomach and it absorbed in. "I think that'll stop the poison," she said. "I won't be able to heal her leg until we land, and that'll take longer with regular water."

"We're landing in a few minutes," said Aang. "I think I see a safe spot to make camp." They were so enwrapped in the moment that none of the were registering that for once in their lives, they were all traveling together without a fight. When they did land and make camp, Toph constructed a large shelter from the ground for all of them, and they brought Azula in and laid her down, leaving Katara to do what she could.

It began to sink in with Zuko who he was with, and he no longer felt comfortable around the avatar or his friends, knowing after being enemies for so long there was still some tension there. He went off on his own, sitting alone to think.

Jin waited till a lot of the fuss died down, then joined Zuko. "Katara was able to heal some of it," she said softly. "She said that if she goes at it little by little, she may heal the whole leg." Zuko nodded, but said nothing. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking at him in concern.

"Why did you come here?" he asked, looking at her.

"Because I felt you were in danger," she said. "And... I was afraid." He reached over and touched her face gently and she moved closer to him.

"I'm glad your here," he said softly, and he kissed her cheek.  
----


	25. Chapter 25

(A/N: Well I can proudly announce that the mountain of homework is almost done! I have one last project to finish and then we're all good. So let's move on!) 

They were barely able to sleep that night. Zuko, Jin, and Katara took turns watching over Azula while Sokka and Aang kept a lookout. Iroh was exhausted and had gone to sleep, and Toph moved around between groups, unable to keep much of a watch. After the first two hours, Zuko went in to trade places with Katara, and he found her attempting to heal more of Azula's leg. She tried for a few minutes then pulled back, heaving a sigh. "I don't think I'll be able to do much more tonight," she said. "I'm sorry." Zuko nodded and she stood up.

"Listen," he said before she left. "I know it's probably hard... helping us after everything..." Katara shook her head.

"Jin said you've changed," she said softly. "I'm holding you to that." He smirked and she left him. He sat down and looked down at his sister. The whole thing felt very strange. He knew his father was planning something awful, but he never thought he'd do anything to hurt Azula. And he couldn't imagine what Azula was going through. Probably the same thing he'd gone through when his father had given him his scar.

"How is she?" asked a voice behind him and he looked over his shoulder as Jin stepped in and sat next to him.

"I don't know, I just got here," he said. "Katara must have stopped the poison... otherwise she'd be dead by now."

"I'm so sorry, Zuko. It must be hard." He shook his head.

"My sister and I... we've never gotten along. In fact, we've hated each other ever since I could remember. She even tried to kill me a few times." Jin looked down and Zuko stared at his sister. "And yet... for once I feel bad for her." He shrugged. "Never thought I would, but I do."

"I can't believe your own father tried to poison you," she muttered. "That's horrible!" Zuko's eyes darkened.

"I can," he said, glancing at her. "My father's the kind of man who'd do something like this to me. Azula though... she was the favorite... the perfect one. I was the screw up, and he never let me forget that." He shook his head.

Jin bit her lip, a certain question pressing on her mind, and finally she saw no harm in asking it since she'd known him for so long anyway. "Zuko," she asked softly. "How did you get that scar?" He looked at her and his eyes darkened even more. At once Jin knew. "Your father?" He nodded. Tears seemed to be forming in his eyes.

"I was fourteen," he hissed, his voice cracking. "I spoke out of turn at a meeting and I was forced to face him in an Agni Kai." Jin stared at him blankly, not knowing what that was. "A fire duel," he explained. "But I wouldn't do it. No kid wants to fight their parents with something as dangerous as fire. And I was so afraid." He was shaking. "I was actually on my hands and knees begging for mercy. But my father..." He looked away and Jin placed her hand on his shoulder. It became obvious that this was the first time he'd ever retold this story. "I remember him raising his hand, and I remember screaming. I woke up on a war ship leaving the Fire Nation with my face bandaged up and my uncle telling me I was exiled for being weak" Jin gasped and he nodded. "That's the kind of man my father is, Jin. That's what I grew up with. And that's who I've tried for so long to get to accept me." He shook his head and looked away. "I'm just angry that it took me so long to accept it."

"Accept what?" asked Jin.

"That I'll never be good enough for him. I could be the bloody firelord and it wouldn't be enough. I've never been good enough and I never will be. To him, I'm always worthless." He looked down and Jin placed her other hand on his other shoulder, making him face her.

"You are not worthless, Zuko!" she said. He didn't look at her, but she wouldn't take her eyes off of him. "And if your father is to stupid to realize that, then he's not worth your while. He never was. You don't need to go through life thinking that." He looked at her, for once allowing the sadness and pain show in his eyes.

"My mother was the only one who loved me," he said. "My sister hated me, and my father... And after my mother died, I had no one. Then I ended up exiled with my uncle, and he was... he was kinder to me than I deserved. And you... I've hurt you so bad in the past, and you still care." Jin smiled and nodded. "And even though I have you and my uncle who care, there will always be that voice inside me, telling me I'm worthless, that I'm not good enough."

"Then drown it out," said Jin, placing her hand on his cheek. "All those words they've said, all those voices of hate, drown them all out and listen to none but mine." He closed his eyes and placed his hand over her own. "I love you." The word stung but felt good at the same time. He hadn't heard those words in so long, and now that they were there, it was almost overwhelming. He'd been searching for love for so long, and now he had it, and she was sitting beside him with her hand on his face, stroking his scar with her thumb, almost as if it wasn't there.

He opened his eyes and gave her a sad smile. "Thank you," he whispered. Azula stirred and gave a soft moan and their bittersweet moment was ended. Jin left to go get some sleep and Zuko stayed by his sister's side, praying that she'd pull through, and hoping her pain when it all registered would not be too much to handle.  
----

Jin stepped outside and sat down alone beneath the stars. She didn't know why Zuko's story was effecting her the way it was, but she felt so much pain for him. "Jin?" asked Katara from behind, and she walked over and sat by her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," said Jin. "We were just talking..."

"I overheard a little," Katara confessed. "You didn't know?" Jin shook her head.

"I had no idea." Tear were close to forming in her own eyes and she shook her head. "What's the matter with me?" she said, her voice choking a little. "I've heard worse stories. I don't know why I'm becoming such a basket case." She gave a stiffled laugh and Katara patted her on the shoulder. "It's different when it happens to someone you care about, Jin. It's not that crazy that you feel so sad for him." Jin nodded. "You should get some rest. It'll be dawn pretty soon."

"Yeah," said Jin, standing up. "Thanks." She walked away and went into the shelter Toph had built. She took a spot near Iroh and was asleep the minute the laid her head down. Sokka watched her then turned to Aang.

"Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that we're all the sudden helping them?" he whispered to Aang.

"No," said Aang, shaking his head. "I guess everything happened so fast we just went with it."

"Do you really think he's on our side?"

Aang shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, if he wasn't he'd have done something by now... wouldn't he?"

Sokka kicked back and shrugged. "I dunno. It may just be an elaborate scheme of his and the jerk will kill us all by morning and the world will be screwed."

"I can hear you!" snapped Zuko from across the room, glanced up from his sister, giving them a dirty look. Aang stood up.

"Where are you going?" asked Sokka.

"To clear the air," he said. Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Always the peacekeeper," he muttered, and rested against the rock wall.

Aang stepped over to Zuko cautiously then sat down when he was certain it was safe. "Uh... hi," he said softly. Zuko glanced at him then looked back at his sister. "So... I guess we're fighting together now, right?" Zuko nodded slightly. "I mean, you're on our side now? No rivalry?"

"I guess," said Zuko. They sat there awkwardly for a few moments, then Zuko spoke up again. "I know it's really... weird right now," he said softly. "But, things really are different now. I guess I've finally realized my father really is that bad, and I don't want to be like him at all. And, I want to help you put a stop to him." Aang nodded.

"Well... that's good," said Aang, smiling. Zuko sat back and turned so his front was facing him.

"You asked me once if we could have been friends," he said, his eyes sincere. "I didn't think so then, but now, I don't think we're so different. I mean, if you think about it... none of us are really that different."

"A guru told me something similar to that," said Aang. He smiled again. "I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I'm glad we'll be fighting this war together.  
Zuko nodded.

"Me too."

"Ugh..." groaned a voice and they glanced over at Toph who had sunk down next to Sokka. "Too mushy. Waaay too mushy."

"Ditto," groaned Sokka. "I think I liked it better when we were enemies you guys, cuz this is a little too weird for me."

"Only you would think that, Sokka!" Katara scolded. "I'm glad we're all teamed up, and together with the earthbenders, we're going to be all the more powerful." Aang smiled and Zuko gave a half grin, then turned back to his sister. "The earthbenders will be here by nightfall tomorrow. At dawn the next day, we go to war."  
----

(A/N: For some reason this didn't get uploaded last night. Odd. Well here it is and expect another chapter in a few hours. I'm almost done typing it up.)


	26. Chapter 26

(A/N: The senior art show was tonight and it was AMAZING! We all had to make slideshow movies with music and voiceover, and everyone was picking really mellow accoustic calming songs. Mine was the last to play and it was "Ice Queen" by Within Temptation. And it fit so well with my artwork, which has always had a bit of a dark theme to it. Mine was so very different from all the others, but it got everyone's attention which was exactly what I wanted. A friend of mine offered me $30 for one of my pieces, so I'm selling it to him. I'm going to upload the video onto youtube sometime this week so I hope you all will check it out. It was really fun. Well, enough chatter.)

"Never forget who you are… never forget… me."

Rather than snapping awake in a cold sweat with his heart pounding, Zuko woke slowly, almost as if he was being slowly dragged out of the dark dementia and into reality. The nightmare had been the same, but the words at the end had changed. "Never forget me." She'd never said that… why was he hearing it now? Had he forgotten? He sat up, rubbing his face and stepped outside for some fresh air.

The sun had begun to rise and the colors were just barely starting to spread out. It was still beautiful though. "Sunrises are very calming, aren't they, nephew?" He turned to his uncle who was sitting on a large rock, sipping a cup of tea. Where he'd gotten the tea, Zuko had no idea, but he was not surprised in the slightest.

"Yeah," said Zuko. He hadn't realized it, but it had been a long time since he'd last been able to talk with his uncle.

"I try to catch them whenever I can, but in my old age…" he chuckled a little, "…it's become rather difficult." Zuko smiled at him. "It was pretty brave of Jin to come out here."

"She's a good fighter," said Zuko. "With the broadswords at least… You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

"Of course I do," said Iroh. "I taught her."

"I had a feeling," said Zuko. "After I told you to get away from Ba Sing Se…"

"I wasn't about to abandon you, Prince Zuko. You or the girl." Zuko shook his head.

"Don't call me that anymore, Uncle. I'm not Prince Zuko anymore. I'm just Zuko. I don't want that title anymore." Iroh frowned.

"Just because you're the prince doesn't destine you to become like your father," said Iroh, standing up and approaching him. "When this war is over, and we win, you will become the new Firelord, and you can't escape that. So don't try to." Zuko lowered his head, not looking too thrilled with that fact. "Don't you see, my nephew?" said Iroh, walking up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "You will be the start of change in the Firenation. You think the avatar's the only one who plays a large role in this?"

Zuko looked up. He'd never thought of that before. "Uncle," he said, glancing at Iroh with sad eyes. "I'm sorry. All the choices I've made before, how I've treated you in the past… I…" he was struggling for words, but Iroh held up a hand and smiled.

"Apology accepted, Prince Zuko." Zuko smiled then thought of something else he'd been wondering about.

"Uncle, back when we were in the palace… and I saw my father about to kill Azula… my firebending changed." Iroh raised an eyebrow. "When it came out it was more powerful than I've ever felt it before… and it was blue fire. That's never happened before."

"Ah," said Iroh, with a nod. "So you've finally discovered blue fire."

"More like stumbled upon it," said Zuko with a shrug. "I don't know how I did it."

"You said it happened when your father tried to kill your sister," pointed out Iroh. "How did you feel at the time?" Zuko thought for a moment.

"I felt a lot of things… mostly anger."

"Not anger," said Iroh. "Rage. Pure rage. You saw the lies your father had been telling both you and your sister and you finally accepted that your father is an evil person. When that happened, the pure rage you'd been suppressing against him was released, and the blue fire was unleashed." Iroh sighed and looked to the side. "I had a feeling you wouldn't be able to do that until you finally saw with your own eyes what kind of man your father is."

"So… blue fire is fueled by rage?" asked Zuko.

"Pure rage," answered Iroh. "Hatred of the worst kind… feelings that makes most humans sick to their stomachs, but with firebenders, it effects their bending. A word of advice though, blue fire can be manipulated but it is very difficult since the emotion that fuels it is nearly impossible to control. Only use it when you are certain you have control. Otherwise I recommend sticking to your basic firebending and lightning." Zuko nodded. "And if that fails, I have something for you…" He reached behind him and pulled out something wrapped in leather. "I stole them on my way out of the palace. I have a feeling they won't be missed." Zuko unwrapped it and smiled as two new broadswords gleamed in the light.

"Thank you," he said, and sheathed them.

"Zuko!" called a voice from inside the shelter and he turned around. Inside he could hear the sounds of groaning and muffled wailing. "Zuko!" called the voice again, and out ran Katara. Her eyes revealed there was bad news to be told and Zuko braced himself. "Azula's developed an infection. I've done what I can, but the poison weakened her body so much… I'm sorry…" Zuko nodded and headed inside the shelter.

"She's still fighting it, but I'm not sure how much longer she's going to hold out," said Katara as they approached her and Zuko sighed.

"I want to be alone with her," he said softly. The others were all staring at him and he looked at them pleadingly. "Please."

"C'mon you guys," said Toph from the corner. They all stood up silently and left, Jin pausing to give Zuko's shoulder a comforting squeeze, and she was the last to leave.

"How long do you think she has?" asked Aang, looking to Katara.

"She was fading very fast," said Katara. "Despite how hard she's fighting it."

"Are we supposed to feel bad then… or not?" asked Sokka. "Cuz I'm completely confused by now."

"Just don't worry about it right now," groaned Jin, rolling her eyes at him.

"The best thing you all can do is give my niece and nephew the space they need, and let them say goodbye," said Iroh. "I'll make some tea."

----

Zuko stared down at his sister for a moment, taking it all in. She was laying there, pale and sweaty, unmoving and seeming to be asleep. Her leg was heavily bandaged, but he could see where she had bled through the wrap. It felt so strange to him. For so long Azula had been the strong one, and now seeing her laying like that, dying… it felt wrong. "Zuko…" she moaned, stirring a little, and he, not caring what rivalry had been there before, sank down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder so she'd know he was there.

"I'm right here," he said. "Just relax, Azula." She stirred a little and then slowly opened her eyelids, her eyes lazily rolling over to him.

"Where are we?" she whispered.

"We're many miles away from the palace. We escaped last night after…" He stopped, unsure how much she remembered and she looked away.

"Father… I remember Father coming after me…" Zuko shushed her.

"It's over, Azula. Don't think about it."

"He… betrayed me…"

"He betrayed us both," said Zuko softly. "It's over now."

"I hate him," she said, her voice cracking. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" He wouldn't answer. She was starting to talk a little more coherently, but she still looked very weak. "I always knew it would happen some day, I just never thought…" her voice trailed off and she looked back at her brother. "Zuko… I was wrong." Her eyes trailed to the rock wall across from her. "I don't want to take it with me, so I'm letting it go. Please forgive me, Zuko."

"I forgave you a while ago," he said softly.

"Zuko, there's something I need to tell you," she said, but she coughed as soon at the words were out and Zuko shushed her again.

"Just get some sleep, Azula. You need to rest." She glanced at him like she knew it wouldn't do any good, but closed her eyes, slowly slipping away from consciousness. Zuko stroked a sweaty curl from her face and tucked it behind her ear, then stood up and left her to sleep.

----

Jin saw Zuko step up and she stood up looking at him in concern along with the others. "Is she…?" asked Jin, her voice trailing.

"She's sleeping now," said Zuko and they all sank back, the anticipation fading. "She won't have much more time." He started to walk away and glanced over his shoulders. "I want to be alone for a while. If she wakes or… come get me." He left and Jin sunk back down to the ground beside Iroh.

"You had better follow him," said Iroh, glancing down at her.

"But he said…" Jin started to say, but Iroh cut her off.

"He shouldn't be alone right now."

----

Zuko hadn't gone too far, but sat alone on a hill, staring at the sky. He couldn't fully understand why, but after all the rivalry and hatred that seemed to have existed between him and his sister, he did want to watch her die. It hurt her. He guessed that deep down there had always been a part of him that cared because she was his sister. He wondered if there was a part of him that would feel the same about his Father.

"I said I wanted to be alone," he said, glancing over his shoulder. He had felt Jin coming, and even heard her footsteps, though she had tried to cover them.

"I know," she said softly. She waited as if trying to see if he'd send her away, and when he didn't, she took a seat next to him and looked out at the sky. She wanted to say something but couldn't think of anything. Perhaps it was one of those times when words weren't needed.

She scooted closer to him, deciding she needed to at least show him she was there and cared, even if she couldn't figure out how to say it. Slowly, she placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze, then she reached it across and placed it on his other shoulder while resting her head against his free shoulder. At first he did nothing, then he gathered her in his arms and pulled her so her legs went over his lap and her head rested against his chest. He held her close and she practically buried herself into him, closing her eyes as she took in the sweet serenity of the moment.

Zuko glanced down at the beautiful girl in his arms and wondered how he'd come to attract her at all. From the day she'd first asked him out he'd always wondered what she saw in him... But it didn't matter so much to him anymore. It was still a comforting thought for him that in the midst of all this chaos, she would still be his one little bit of peace.

He held her very closely for an eternity it seemed, until he had the strength to let go. "We should go back," he said softly to her, kissing the top of her head.

"All right," she groaned, her tone giving away that she didn't want to leave the comfort of his arms just yet. She slowly stood up and he took her hand, pulling himself up and they walked back to camp together.

----

"Zuko..."

Zuko turned his head around at the sound of his sister's voice and he stood up. Night had fallen and they had started a fire outside of the shelter, waiting for the Earth Kingdom army to arrive. It was getting late and though no one had said a word, they were all becomming worried. Azula's sudden cry didn't ease their senses at all and Zuko stepped in alone, a part of him knowing this would be the last conversation he would have with his sister.

It was very dark in there, and he found the spot where the old fire had been built the night before, and he re-kindled it. "Zuko..." Azula wailed and he hurried beside her, kneeling down and taking her hand.

"I'm here, Azula," he said softly. She dug her nails into his hand and he realized she was afraid.

"I don't want to die alone..." she whispered and he nodded. He reached over and felt her forehead and realized she was burning up with fever, and judging by the way she was slurring her words, her mind was fading in and out of reality.

"It's going to be all right," he said gently. "I'm not leaving." She rolled over and reached up, grabbing on to both his sleeves and clinging on tightly as if she didn't believe him. She was slipping away, and didn't want to. Zuko put an arm underneath her to support her and cradled her with the other, trying to calm her down.

"I don't wanna die..." she mummbled, her breaths coming in short gasps. "Idonnnwanna..." He shushed her and shook his head.

"Calm down," he muttered. "Everything's going to be all right." She looked at him, wanting to speak, but now it was as though she couldn't. Her eyes began to roll around like they didn't have the strength to remain focused on anything, and she was shivering despite how badly her body was heating up. "You won't be alone," he said softly. "They'll all be there. Our grandparents, Lu Ten... and Mother. They'll all be there waiting for you." She muttered something but he couldn't catch it, her words were so slurred. "What?" he asked. She looked at him with heavy eyelids.

"Not Mother..." she rasped. Zuko stared at her, not understanding what she meant. "Mother's not dead..." she whispered.

"I saw her leave," said Zuko. "She disappeared after that. Father said she-"

"Father..." she started to say, but was interrupted by a coughing fit. "Father lied... Zuko." She let her head drop to the side so her face was towards him. "I'm... I'm sorry..." she whispered. Zuko sat stunned... unsure what to think or say. He was holding his dying sister in his arms, and now the mother he'd known to be dead for all these years was... alive? Was it true? "I'm so tired..." Azula suddenly moaned. "So... tired..."

"Sleep now, Azula," said Zuko softly. "Just sleep." Her eyes drooped shut and her fingers began to slip from his sleeves, and he knew she was letting go and surrendering to it. Zuko watched her and could almost feel the life leaving her. Her hands dropped and her head fell back. Her eye were opened again, but looking up at the ceiling... unseeing. He laid her down slowly and stared at her. "Just sleep..." he whispered.

----

"He's been in there a long time," muttered Katara, glancing to the entrance of the shelter. "Do you think one of us should check in on them?"

"No," said Iroh. "Let them be." They sat there in silence for a few moments when Toph suddenly jumped up, testing the ground with her feet.

"What's wrong?" asked Aang.

"Something's coming..." she said. "It feels like... like an army."

"The earthbenders!" Katara, Sokka, Aang, and Jin all exclaimed at once and they jumped up, hurrying down to meet them. Iroh stayed where he was and waited until Zuko walked out slowly.

"It's over..." he said darkly, and Iroh patted his shoulder.

"She's at peace now, my nephew. And it was kind of you to comfort her during her final moments." Zuko nodded, but couldn't bring himself to look up from the ground.

----

"You're late!" cried Katara as they approached the army, but she was smiling none the less.

"Sorry," said the Earth King, who was leading the group. "But we had to make an unexpected stop to pick up some recruits..."

"Recruits?" asked Aang. The Earth King beamed and stepped to the side, revealing a group of young women clad in warrior uniforms with golden fans.

"The Kyoshi warriors!" exclaimed Katara.

"Suki!" cried Sokka, and he ran to the leader of the young women, who in turn was running to him. Jin smiled at them, watching them share a quick kiss before they realized they were surrounded by staring people.

"We will be honored to fight alongside the avatar," said Suki as she stepped away from Sokka's arms. They headed back to camp with smiles. Things were looking up at last. Jin looked up and saw Zuko standing next to his uncle and her smile faded. The look in his eyes was enough to tell her what had happened, and she sighed. If only things could be looking brighter for him as well, she thought to herself.


	27. Chapter 27

(A/N: Yeah so my teacher for computer programming never showed up and  
I got tired of waiting so I'm in the library no writing chapters. Oh, and I did  
my research, Toph senses lies through heartbeats and voice vibrations, so I  
think it's very possible that she would have sensed Jin's lie on Appa –there  
was some dispute on that-. Well, on we go.)

Iroh helped Zuko burry Azula while everyone else was busy talking with the  
Kyoshi warriors and the Earth Kingdom army. Already battle tactics were  
being formed, including plans on freeing the prisoners in the large prison  
which would not be too far from the battleground. Jin wanted to go help  
Iroh and Zuko but decided against it. She didn't feel it was her place to be  
there, but knew she would have to be strong for Zuko when he got back. It  
was uncertain to her how much Azula's passing would hurt him considering  
their rough past, but she half expected there to be at least some pain. And at  
least Iroh was with him right now.

"We got a good glimpse of the Fire Nation's army," said the Earth King as  
they began planning. "It's large... Very, very large. They have many skilled  
Fire Benders, who have been training for months for this."

"How bad is it?" asked Katara. The Earth King sighed.

"We're outnumbered. Largely." They all sank back and the glimmer of hope  
that had appeared with the army's arrival was gone.

"This is bad, you guys…" said Sokka, looking around unsure.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," grumbled Toph.

"Of course we're outnumbered," said Aang suddenly as a thought came to  
him. "Think about it you guys, this war is not only involving the Fire Nation  
and the Earth Kingdom. It's a war involving all four elements. Earth, Fire,  
Water, and Air."

"We have the Earth Kingdom's army," said Katara. "And the Kyoshi  
warriors…"

"And there's no airbenders left besides me," said Aang. "That leaves…"

"Water Tribe," said Sokka, sitting back with a cocky smile.

"We don't have time to go to the North Pole and round up an army, Sokka,"  
said Katara. "The battle's tomorrow."

"And there's another problem," said Aang. "I haven't mastered all the  
elements yet." Katara, Sokka, and Toph all looked at each other unsure.  
They hadn't thought of that. During their unwritten travels they had spared a  
few days for Aang to learn a few basics from Jeong Jeong, who had  
reluctantly taken Aang back as a pupil after being offered a substantial  
award from the Earth King.

"Well… you sorta know some firebending… and you've mastered earth,  
water, and air. Shouldn't that be enough?" asked Sokka. "I mean, 3 and a  
half out of 4 isn't so bad… is it?"

"I don't know," said Katara. "I mean, it would be useful against the  
firebenders…"

"But we don't have the time for him to master it," said Toph. "He's just  
going to have to do without."

"That's a risk I don't think we should take," said Katara, shaking her head.

"Well… we do have two firebenders with us," pointed out Aang. "I'm sure  
Iroh could train me."

"But we only have what's left of today!" pointed out Jin, who was getting  
tired of sitting quietly. "That can't be enough time. I mean, Zuko's been  
doing it for years, and he's still learning."

"It's better than nothing," said Aang. "And like Sokka said, I have all the  
other elements mastered."

"Getting back to our original problem," said the Earth King. "What are we  
going to do about our numbers?" They sat there silent, trying to think of a  
solution.

"I've got it!" cried Katara suddenly. "Sokka, Dad's not that far away from  
here, right?"

"Yeah," said Sokka. He suddenly realized what she was saying and stood  
up. "It'll be about a half a day's flight, but if we leave now we could return  
with them by nightfall!"

"Return with who?" asked Jin.

"Our father's army! From the Water Tribe," said Katara.

"I thought you said you were the only waterbender in the South Pole?" said  
Aang.

"I was at the time because all the others were at war. But there are  
waterbenders in Father's army, and even the ones that aren't are amazing  
warriors. They'll definitely increase our numbers."

"I'm not sure if it'll be enough," said the Earth King. "But it sounds good."

"We won't be able to bring them all back," said Sokka. "Even Appa's not  
big enough for that. But if we bring in a good number to fight tomorrow,  
and then have the others follow behind, they'll be there by nightfall  
tomorrow to help."

"You'd best be moving then," said the Earth King. "Will anyone else be  
traveling with you, Sokka?"

"I'll go," said Toph. "Aang needs to stay here for firebending, and taking  
our only waterbender with us wouldn't be a smart choice right now.  
Besides, you've got more than enough earthbenders."

"Aw…" whined Sokka. "I was hoping Suki would go." Suki gave him a  
smile and kissed his cheek.

"I'll be waiting here for you when you get back," she reassured him and he  
blushed a little. Jin rolled her eyes and Aang and Katara exchanged  
disgusted looks.  
----

Jin left the meeting after a while when she was certain that they were no  
longer in need of her. Iroh and Zuko were bound to be heading back soon,  
and in fact when she stepped outside, she spotted Iroh walking back. "Is the  
meeting over?" he asked when he saw Jin standing there.

"No," she answered. "It's still going." He smiled as he headed in.

"I always found these war councils to be boring." Jin smiled as she watched  
the old man head in, and she looked up to see Zuko, who had walked  
considerably slower than Iroh. It became very clear to her that Azula's death  
had been harder than she had initially thought, and she quickly walked up to  
him.

"Hey," she said softly. "You okay?" He nodded and she ran a hand across  
his face, stroking his scar gingerly. "I wish there was something I could  
do..." He looked up at her. "I hate times like this. Makes me feel so  
helpless."

"It's okay," he said softly, and he wrapped his arms around her. "You've  
given me what I need." She hugged him back tightly and he was the first to  
let go. "Azula told me one thing before she left," he said softly. "Where are  
the others?"

"In the shelter," said Jin, pointing to it. "Sokka and Toph left a few minutes  
ago to retrieve some soldiers from the Water tribe, and there'll be more  
coming later. Hopefully that'll be enough. We're going to be so  
outnumbered..."

"I know," said Zuko. "But don't give up hope just yet. I need to talk to the  
others."

"Why?"

"Azula told me something important. We need to make sure we get the  
prisoners out of that prison near the battlegrounds."

"We've already made a plan for that," said Jin.

"Then I want to lead that part."

"Why?"

Zuko looked to the side then back at Jin. "I think my mother's in there." She  
stared at him confused and furrowed her brow.

"What? But you said-"

"My father told me she was dead, I know. And that's what I thought... but  
before Azula died..." He sighed, those words bringing a pain with them.  
"...before she died she told me he lied." He looked to the side and shook his  
head. "Wouldn't be the first time he's done that."

"Why would he lie about that?" asked Jin.

"To make me suffer... who knows. He hated her. They may have been in  
love at one point but I'm almost certain he hated her by the end. And it  
makes sense if she's there. He'd lock her away somewhere where I wouldn't  
think to find her then make up a story that she'd been killed to ensure I  
wouldn't look." He sighed and looked back at Jin. "It sounds just like him."

"That's awful." He nodded. "Are you sure?"

"No," said Zuko, his eyes filled with pain and honesty. "I don't. But I've  
gotta find out the truth. Whether she's dead or alive, I have to know."

"Then I'm coming with you," said Jin, taking his hand.

"No," said Zuko. "They'll need all the great fighters they can get... and that  
includes you." She closed her eyes.

"Why do we always have to seperate?" she asked, looking him in the eyes.  
"Just once I want to be fighting alongside you, not against you or away from  
you." He smiled at her.

"Some day," he whispered. "I may not be by your side in battle, but I  
promise to always be there when it ends." She smiled and he kissed her  
cheek. "And perhaps one day I'll be by your side always..." Her heart  
stopped and he stepped back. "I'd better go in there." He left her standing  
there alone, smiling and staring at the sky.  
----

"You are certain you want to do this, Prince Zuko?" asked Iroh. Zuko had  
waited until the meeting was over before pulling his uncle aside to tell him  
of his plans.

"Yes," he said.

"You do know there's a slim chance she's still alive."

"I know," said Zuko. "But I need to find out for myself so I can finally know  
the truth."

"And the other prisoners? Are you thinking of them as well?"

"Of course I am! I'll free them in the process and that flying bison can take  
them away to safety."

"What about Jin," said Iroh. Zuko looked at him confused.

"What about her?"

"It become very apparent how close you two have grown. I'll even go as far  
as to say she's fallen in love with you, and perhaps you with her." Iroh  
watched him for a reaction, but all Zuko did was look down. "This final war  
will be the biggest in both your lives. Have you thought of what that young  
woman will go through if something happens to you? Tomorrow there'll  
only be a few hours where we'll be able to firebend, and then the eclipse will  
hit, and we'll be left up to skill alone." Zuko had nearly forgotten about that,  
but then remembered his broadswords.

"Nothing's going to happen, Uncle," said Zuko.

"With all due respect, Prince Zuko, this is no time to be arrogant."

"I'm not," said Zuko honestly. "Nothing will happen because... because I  
can't leave her." He looked up at his uncle. "I love her. Nothing can happen  
because I don't ever want to leave her." Iroh smiled.

"And they said it would never happen," he jested, nudging Zuko in the ribs.

"Who said that?!" he asked.

"Just protect yourself and be extra careful. And I'll go with Jin and make  
sure she stays safe." Zuko smiled.

"Thank you," he said softly, then raised his eyebrow. "But seriously... who  
said that?"  
----

"There's something I've been wondering," said Katara. The meeting had  
ended about five minutes ago, and now they had broken off into their own  
little conversive groups. Katara and Suki had gone off on their own and  
were beginning to talk. "What happened at Ba Sing Se? Three Fire Nation  
people dressed up as Kyoshi warriors showed up and that's what led to the  
downfall." Suki made a face as if the memory brought back anger.

"The warriors and myself were ambushed by those three you speak of," she  
said darkly. "One of them was Azula."

"She lead the downfall," said Katara.

"My warriors fought bravely... but unfortunately they were too much... even  
though they were only three."

"I've fought with them before. I know what you mean," said Katara.

"They were merciful though. They stripped three of my girls of their  
clothing and got away. We sent out a hunt for them that evening, but we  
never tracked them down." Katara glanced over Suki's shoulder and spotted  
Zuko walking in. Suki didn't notice, however. "If I ever get my hands on  
that Azula again... I could just kill that brat!" she snarled. Katara bit her lip  
and saw Zuko pause, having heard every word Suki had said. Suki raised  
her eyebrows and glanced behind her at Zuko, watching him step outside of  
the shelter again.

"Azula was his sister," said Katara softly. "She died earlier today after her  
father betrayed and tried to murder her." Suki placed a hand over her mouth.

"Oh no..." she muttered. "I didn't know..." Katara nodded.

"It's okay. I think he's just upset. Not with you, I mean..." Katara then began  
to retell the story of what had happened, knowing it would be best for Suki  
to understand that Zuko was on their side, now that she knew who he was.  
----

That evening Appa returned with a good portion of the water tribe's  
warriors, more than Aang and Katara had expected would fit on that saddle.  
Among them was Sokka and Katara's father. "You really have quite a ride  
there," he said as he got off.

"Dad!" cried Katara as she ran up and embraced him and he smiled. "Are the  
others coming?" she asked.

"They left shortly after we did and they should be here tomorrow evening as  
planned." They went inside the shelter, which Toph had to expand on to fit  
them all in, and they continued with their strategies and planning. Zuko  
rejoined them later and as he entered, Suki noticed him and turned stood up,  
approaching him cautiously.

"Listen," she said, scratching the back of her head uncomfortably. "I'm  
really sorry about what I said. I had no idea-"

"It's okay," said Zuko with a nod. "Don't worry about it. Where's Jin?" Suki  
pointed to the corner and Zuko walked over to her, sitting down beside her.  
"Alone?" he asked. She smiled.

"I don't know these people very well so I just do my own thing."

"You're supposed to socialize to know people," he teased her and she  
shrugged. She noticed his eyes were red and puffy.

"Are you doing all right?" she asked, scooting closer to him. He nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Just saying goodbye." She rested her head against him and  
he put his arm around her. "I think I saw her star too." Jin smiled. "I just  
wish things could have been better between us before she was dying."

"It'll get easier to deal with with time," she said softly.

"I hope so," he whispered. She glanced at Zuko's topknot and frowned.  
Reaching in her pocket she pulled out a dark brown hair tie and scooted  
away from him.

"Turn your back towards me," she said softly. He obeyed and she reached  
up, undoing the red Fire Nation tie and set it on the floor beside him.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she worked with his hair.

"Giving you something to take with you," she said softly. She pulled all his  
hair back and tied it into a ponytail. It was short enough that it curved in and  
brushed the back of his neck when he moved, but it made her smile.  
"There," she said softly. "Now when you wear it you'll think of me  
tomorrow, and I'll be with you." He smiled.

"Thank you," he whispered. "Could you do something else for me?" he  
asked.

"Anything," she said gently.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small gold hoop earring. "I stole  
this from a group of pirates I traveled with a long time ago. I was going to  
sell it for money when my uncle and I became refugees in Ba Sing Se, but  
for some reason I kept it, and now I'm glad I did." She looked at him  
confused. "Years ago, when the Fire Nation royalties had slaves and it  
would come time to let their slaves go, if the slave wanted to remain with its  
master he would have his mast pierce his ear so he would forever belong to  
him because he chose to. Soon it became a symbol for lovers, especially in  
the army. If the soldier was engaged or in love with a woman he was leaving  
behind, he'd pierce his ear as a symbol to show his love had bound him to  
someone... someone he really loved."

Jin gasped as she realized where this was going. "That then became in  
insentive for the other soldiers to make sure that soldier came home to his  
love, and tomorrow, I want to wear this in battle so they'll know there's  
someone waiting for me when this is all over. Someone I love." A tear fell  
down her face and she brushed it away.

"It'll hurt a little," she said softly.

"That's all right," he said. She took the earring from his hand then looked  
around.

"Does anyone have a needle?" she called out.

"I have one!" answered Suki and she handed it to her. "I use it to mend  
uniforms when I have to."

"Thanks," said Jin, and she turned to Zuko. She placed the tip of the pin as  
center as she could guess on his left earlobe and then forced it through,  
trying to do it as quickly as possible. Zuko flinched a little, but once it  
pricked out the other side, Jin pulled it out quickly and wiped away a drop  
of blood that had leaked out. She then took the earring and put it in place.  
After she closed it up she looked at him and bit her lip. "It's in..." she said.  
"Be careful not to get it infected." He nodded and reached up, touching it  
curiously.

"Come with me," he said after a moment of feeling the piercing. Jin stood  
up and walked out with him, handing the needle back to Suki on her way  
out. It was dark out and the stars were all out and shining. He lead her up to  
the hill they'd sat on before and he pointed to the moon, which looked so  
large this night.

"Oh wow!" gasped Jin with a smile and Zuko smiled as he saw it reflect off  
her face. She turned to face him again and carefully reached up, gently  
brushing the earring with her finger. He leaned forward, putting a hand  
behind her waist and cupped the other below her ear.

She could feel his breath on her neck and he moved his lips to her ear. "Now  
I'm yours." She closed her eyes and he moved his face back to face her,  
hesitated for a moment, then leaned in, pressing his lips to hers.  
----

(A/N: A fun fact, the story of the slaves and the ear piercings is a true one. I  
don't remember which country it originated in, but if the master had treated  
their slave kindly and the slave did not want to leave, they would get their  
ear pierced by the master so they would always belong to them. The part  
after where it became a symbol of love was made up by me. Well, R&R, and  
I'll have that art show video up soon. Ugh, long chapter and now I have a migrane  
from staring at the screen for too long, lol.)


	28. Chapter 28

(A/N: I actually went back and re-read Azula's death scene and I almost cried. When I wrote it, it didn't mean very much, but when I read it again I got this mental image of Angel from Rent in the scene where he's dying in his lover's arms... man that movie made me cry. Well, on we go. And brace yourself for another long chapter... unless if I split this one up... which I may. We'll see.) 

Morning crept by too soon for Jin, and she opened her eyes as the dim sunlight shone through the entrance to the shelter. Beside her laid Zuko, still asleep with his arm around her. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek lightly. After their kiss they stayed up on that hill, talking for a long time,  
and then had retired to the shelter where everyone else had had fallen asleep except for a look out standing by the entrance. At first Jin had laid herself down in her usual spot, but when she looked over at Zuko, who was practically alone, she stood up and walked over to him, laying down next to him and snuggling into him, her head rested on his chest.

Waking up in his arms was the greatest feeling she'd ever had, and she sat up slowly, being careful not to wake him. The others were gradually waking up, but Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph were all still sound asleep. There was no one for her to talk to, so she slipped out to go watch the sunrise. She wasn't entirely surprised when she saw Iroh sitting out there with a cup of tea and she sat with him.

"Having a sunrise this beautiful is very comforting," said Iroh. "Especially knowing what's coming today."

"I didn't think there would be a sunrise today," said Jin softly, staring out. "It's the day of Black Sun."

"Yes, but the eclipse won't hit until noon. There'll be a few hours when the army will be able to firebend, but once it's noon they'll be left with weapons alone."

Something suddenly occurred to Jin and she glanced at Iroh. "Aang was supposed to learn firebending yesterday. Did he ever come to you?"

"He did shortly after we came back from burying my niece," said Iroh. "I knew there was no need for him to practice anything fancy since there wouldn't be that much time, but we worked on the basics, which I think he's mastered… or is very close to it at least."

"They said he's mastered earthbending, waterbending, and airbending. That should be enough."

"I hope so," said Iroh. They were quiet for a few moments, and he turned to Jin. "Are you scared?" She thought for a moment, then nodded.

"A little. But not so much for myself…" she glanced over at Zuko who was still sleeping peacefully.

"You looked very comfortable with him…" mentioned Iroh, his tone having a hint of accusation to it.

"Nothing happened," she said softly. "Well… nothing bad I mean."

"I know," he said. "I trust both of your judgments. But don't be afraid, Jin. Even if something were to happen, your love has the two of you bound together and you would be with each other again in eternity."

"It's not eternity I'm worried about," she said softly. "It's all the living in between I don't think I could handle."

"I know how you feel," he said gently. "I felt the same way about my son, Lu Ten. But you do learn to cope, and life does move on. And I know I'll see him again, so it's not over."

"I didn't know you had a son," said Jin.

"I did," he said with a nod. "And over these last few years, my nephew has become like a son to me." Jin smiled.

"Do you think we have a chance?" asked Jin. "I mean, us against all of them?" Iroh nodded.

"There never was much hope, but that doesn't mean it was never there. As long as we have hope, young Jin, we have a chance." She nodded.

"Thanks. You're so full of wisdom sometimes," she said.

"That… and about 500 pounds of something else," he chuckled, patting his stomach. She smiled and turned to head in. A strange noise caught her attention and she glanced up. A crow sat nearby on a dead tree, cawing loudly before flying away. Something about the sight gave her a feeling of  
dread, but it quickly passed, and she went inside to get herself ready.  
----

About an hour later, everyone was up and nearly ready for battle. They had been divided off into 2 groups. One would be facing the Fire Nation army, and a smaller fleet would be heading to the prison to free the prisoners inside. Toph went off on her own a little before the others left and created an underground hideaway where the prisoners would be stored until it was all over, and they were all expecting the remained Water Tribe warriors to arrive at nightfall as planned.

Jin hardly got a chance to talk to Zuko at all, and when they were finally spilt up into groups and ready to leave, she quickly caught hold of him before he boarded Appa, and gave him a hug. "Be careful," she whispered.

"You too," he said softly, squeezing her a little, then gave her a quick kiss. He climbed on to Appa, and Sokka took the reigns and with a "yip yip", they were gone. Jin stood there until they were out of sight and Iroh came up from behind and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Time to go," he said, and Jin walked with him to join up with the army.  
----

The army was lined up in place, and Jin was close to the front, her broadswords drawn and ready to be put into battle. She took a look behind her and smiled. Altogether, even though they were still lacking some of the Water Tribe, they still made up a rather large army, and her hope was raised,  
now that she had a better feeling that their number was not too small after all. Iroh stood beside her and she had a good feeling he'd be trying to protect her through most of this.

Aang stood front and center, and Katara and Toph stood on either side of him. The rest devided into a section of earthbenders and then the Water Tribe warriors. Sokka and Zuko had taken a few earthbenders with them to be to help them. The plan was that once they were inside the prison they would tunnel their way out and into Toph's hidden underground shelter, which was not too far of a distance away. Then a few of the earthbenders would stay behind to protect the released prisoners while the rest returned with Sokka and Zuko to aid in the battle. By that point the eclipse should have hit, and the firebenders would be at their weakest.

Jin shuddered. Unfortunately that meant the same for Zuko and Iroh, and the image of the squawking crow entered her mind. Something about it had been almost haunting, but she pushed it away. This was not the time to give in to dread.

"I feel vibrations," said Toph suddenly.

"They're coming!" called Katara, who turned to the rest of the army. "Get ready." Jin felt a slight rush of anxiety, but stood her ground, knowing what would come would come.

She couldn't help but worry a little, however, when Toph suddenly straightened up and said a little too loudly, "Oh no"  
----

"Look," said Sokka, pointing out to where the army was standing as they flew by. Zuko glanced out, and could see the Fire Nation army entering. "The battle's about to begin."

Zuko stared out then his eyes widened when he saw the dark patch that looked like thousands of ants stretching out over the hills, ending almost a full mile away from the front. "Oh no..." he said.

"Look at them all," said one of the earthbenders. "There's so many!"

"They don't stand a chance out there!" said another.

"Don't say that!" said Sokka, looking at them. "Don't forget, we have an eclipse coming in a few hours. They won't be so intimidating for long."

"He's right," said Zuko, but in his head he was praying for Jin and his uncle. In his heart, he had no idea how this war would end, but he had a pretty good idea that he'd be facing his father. He clenched his fist as he thought of Azula laying cold in the ground a few miles away. His father would pay for that... and all the other things he'd done. He, Zuko, was no longer afraid to fight back, and his father would have to face him before the end.

He looked out and could see the prison coming in the distance and turned his focus on finding his mother, never fully pushing his father out of his mind.  
----

Jin stared at the army coming towards them that seemed unending. Her heart fell into her stomach, but when she felt Iroh's hand clench her shoulder she calmed down a little. "Don't be afraid, young Jin," he said softly. "You're not alone in this battle." She looked around and remembered they still had a full army, and she wouldn't have to fight all the Fire Nation army alone. Taking in a deep breath, she took her fighting stance and braced herself.

The Fire Nation army stopped about ten feet from them, and they stood there, staring at the small army facing them. "Is this some kind of joke?" scoffed one of the soldiers. "You don't stand a chance!"

"You forget," said Katara, taking a fighting stance. "We have the avatar. We've already won."

"We'll see about that," said the general, narrowing his eyes, and then he turned to the army. "On my mark!" The front row all took a fighting stance and the rest prepared themselves, some of them arming catapults.

"Get ready!" shouted Aang, and their army prepared themselves. There was a long moment of tension, and Jin could feel her heart pounding inside her chest. They waited for someone to make the first strike, and the Fire Nation leapt on the opportunity.

"FIRE!" shouted the general, and three catapults, almost hidden in the crowd, launched large flaming boulders at them. The sounds of the men quickly dodging could be heard, and with that, Aang, Katara, and Toph all shouted in unison, "ATTACK!"

Jin lunged at them with a cry, followed by Iroh, and the rest of the army charged towards the Fire Nation. Before, Jin had been afraid to kill anyone back at the battle at Ba Sing Se, but now she was no longer afraid. Grasping her broadswords and thinking of all the blood that had been spilled and all the pain that she'd been through thanks to them, she began swinging away, knowing she wouldn't recieve any mercy in return from any of them.

Before she knew it, she and Iroh were seperated, but she didn't have time to try to find him. The army was attacking her and she had to be quick on her feet or die. She knew Iroh would be all right, and focused on protecting her own skin.  
----

Appa landed and the army all leapt off, hurring to the door. Not to his surprise, Zuko saw it was guarded by two firebenders, but he didn't have to raise a finger. The earthbenders caused the ground beneath the guards to open and they fell in, trapped up to their necks. Knowing that killing them would be a waste of time, Zuko went strait to the lock, not entirely surprised that it was a firebending one, and he blasted it as hard as he could with a monstrous ball of fire. The lock opened with a loud clank, and the doors were pushed open easily by the earth benders.

"Half of you, with me!" called Sokka. "The other half goes with him!" he pointed to Zuko who made a face.

"I have a name, you know!" Zuko grumbled.

"It's a little too weird to be on first name terms just now, buddy," said Sokka, and he hurried in with his half while Zuko lead his half in and down a different hall.  
----

"Look out!" shouted Toph, and she launched a giant boulder over Jin's head and at an oncoming firebender who was much larger than her. Jin smiled back at Toph.

"Thanks!" she shouted, and Toph went back into battle.

"No problem!"

A sudden blast of fire struck Jin in the back and she fell forwards with a cry. Toph bit her lip, then struck down the firebender responsable for the surprise attack, then turned to Jin, who was picking herself up slowly. The back of her shirt had been badly burned and her back looked awful.  
Unfortunately, Toph couldn't see any of that, but the smell of burned flesh attacked her nose.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," said Jin and she resumed fighting, only not as quickly as before because her back was killing her.

"Aang!" called Katara over the commotion. "Why don't you go into the Avatar State?"

"I can't!" Aang called back, while dodging another firebender attack. "If I get killed while I'm in the state-" he dodged another blow, "-the reincarnation chain will be broken!" He dodged some more and Katara helped take out a few of them.

"You'll have to go into it at some point, Aang," she called out.

"I will when the time is right, Katara!" he shouted back, and resumed fighting.

Jin decided to stick around Toph, both to keep herself safe, but the also keep an eye out on her. Being blind she knew there was only so much Toph could do, and she found herself having to cut down a few firebenders who were attempting surprise attacks on the girl. Once or twice Toph would remark with a, "I could have gotten him," but Jin shrugged.

"I know," she answered, and continued to fight.  
----

Zuko didn't have to travel very far before the began coming upon cells, and he went to open it when a foul stench struck him in the nose. "Everyone get down a moment!" he called out, and they all lowered themselves. He closed his eyes to get his breathing right, then stretched out his hands and blasted two lines of fire down both walls, lighting all the torches on the sides. Once it was safe, the earthbenders stood up and they turned, looking inside. There came a few cries of disgust, and even Zuko jumped back. Inside the cell was a rotting corpse, maggots crawling around and eating away the flesh. It was only proof of how long some of them had been in there and how unattended the place was usually kept.

"Is anyone still alive?" he called to the the army.

"There's a man in this cell!" shouted one.

"And there's some here too!" shouted another.

"Search all the cells for survivors!" called Zuko. "Carry the sick on your backs if you have to. Just get them out!" They obeyed and Zuko went around from cell to cell, finding mostly corpses and skeletons. In one of the cells lay a young boy who had starved to death, and he looked like he had only died a few hours ago. It almost made Zuko sick, but a strange noise drew his attention away from that.

Up in the small barred window sat a crow, and it squawked at him before flying off. It added to the whole morbidity of the place and he shuddered, moving on the next cell to find a mother and her daughter inside.

It took nearly an hour to go through all the cells in that wing, but they finally had them and they were lead out by five of the earthbenders to be taken to the shelter. The rest of the earthbenders followed Zuko down to the next wing. There had been no sign of his mother yet, but he was not giving up hope.  
----

Jin leapt over a firebender who lunged at her and sliced at him with her blades. There was already blood staining them, but she didn't care. At this point it was better theirs than hers. She cut her way through a few more of them, recieving several minor burns in return, and she could feel the burns on her back begin to seize up on her. But she pressed through the pain, knowing it was not worth it to give up. It had finally sunk in that this battle was more than just her. It was a battle to free the world from this ongoing war and finally bring about peace. Giving up so quickly would be cowardly,  
and she ignored her injuries, knowing the only way she'd stop was if someone killed her.

She took a step backwards, preparing herself for the firebender who was now charging at her. When he lunged and fired at her, she dodged with ease and swung at him, taking two quick stabs at his chest then watched him fall. Turning to see if she could spot Katara or the others, she spotted something laying on the ground and jumped back. A fallen Water Tribe soldier lay there, eyes open but unseeing, staring blindly at the sun.

The sight repulsed her so badly that for a moment she forgot where she was. "Look out!" shouted a male's voice and she turned, almost too late to dodge the ball of blue fire that was blasted at her. A Water Tribe warrior finished off the firebender and turned to Jin, then glanced at the body and frowned. "He's not the only one," he said, then placed a hand on Jin's shoulder. "Be careful young woman," and with that he went back to fighting.

Jin caught a quick glimpse and gasped their number looked like it had decreased significantly and she felt herself shaking. "Come on!" shouted another voice and she turned to see Iroh running towards her. "It's not over yet." She nodded and went back to fighting, knowing that it would not be over for her until she'd taken her last breath.  
----

(A/N: I hate to do this to you guys, but there's no way I can finish off this battle in one chapter so I'm going to have to cut it off here and pick it up tomorrow. Hope you can forgive me, but I'm starting the second part up right now, and I'll work on it most of tomorrow so I'll hopefully be able to put it up after school, or at least sooner than I usually update. R&R! And if you're wondering, yes, the crow is symbolic and is foreshadowing something to come... I'll leave you with that and see you tomorrow.)


	29. Chapter 29

(A/N: Sorry I couldn't get this up sooner. I have to do some damage control after a friend of mine got in a fight with me and then went to all my gay friends and told them that I hate all gays and I want to see them burn in hell. This is just one of the many lies this witch has spread so now I have a lot of people angry with me right now cuz they're stupid enough to believe her. I'm in the middle with trying to get someone not mad with me on myspace even as we speak. I'm so sick of the drama. Those of you who think you need more of it in your lives, trust me, you don't. Drama's like a poison you gotta suck out of your veins. I hate it and I'm just so effing furious right now. Ever heard the song "Heart Like A Grave," by Corinna Fugate? If not go to my youtube profile youtube(dot)com(/)smeagolsgirl. There's a video somewhere in list of videos I've made (you may need to click the 'veiw more' link to find it) and it's called Heart Like A Grave, which was made for Zuko and Azula. That song is how I feel right now towards this person.) 

Zuko walked down the third wing he'd been in since they'd entered, and the earthbenders went through the cells, knowing the drill by now. He hadn't come across his mother or any sign of her yet, but he held out hope knowing that there were still many cells to go through, and there was always the cells Sokka was currently going through. So they pressed on, going through cell after cell, some of them containing dead bodies, others containing sickly prisoners. The survivors were escorted to the hideout, and soon the earthbenders were coming in and out in shifts to deliver the next group.

The entire process seemed to be taking hours, and Zuko couldn't help but wonder how things were looking on the battle grounds... how Jin was. "Prince Zuko," said one of the earthbenders and he turned to him. "Just thought I should warn you. Only an hour left till noon." Zuko nodded and called for the men to hurry. He wanted to be able to contribute to the battle with his firebending, but if they didn't hurry, it wouldn't happen.

A few minutes later he recognized a servant from the palace sitting in one of the cells and his hopes went up again. The man didn't recognize him right away, however, and it wasn't until Zuko told him who he was that he got any response from him. "Prince Zuko?" he asked, seeming stunned. "We all thought you'd never come back after they banished you..." His eyes wandered to Zuko's scar, but Zuko said nothing, having gotten very used to this by now. "I'd heard stories... I didn't know if it was true or not..." His voice faded and Zuko didn't really care if he elaborated on that thoughts.

"I'm looking for my mother," he said and studied the man's face for a reaction. "Princess Ursa."

"Ursa," said the man, recalling that name. "Yes... she was here..."

"Was?" he asked, not liking the choice of words.

"Your father had her locked away in here after she offered up he life in place of yours." Zuko's memory suddenly snapped back to that awful morning when he'd woken with his little sister standing by his bed with a mocking look on her face.

"Father's going to kill you."

"Your father didn't want to do that, so instead he had her locked away then told the firelord he'd killed her since she'd traded places with you."

"Father didn't want to kill her?" he asked, surprised to hear that. His heart sank when he realized his father had not shown any signs of the same feelings when he'd learned he had to kill his son. He clenched his teeth in fury and looked at the man again. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Prince Zuko... it's been years since she was locked away..." his voice trailed off again and he began to worry. "I only saw her when they brought her in here... I never saw her after that."

"Where did they put her?" asked Zuko.

"I don't know. But the average person doesn't survive much longer than a few years. I was one of the lucky ones..." Zuko had heard enough.

"Get moving with the others," he said. "There's still more cells to go through." The man nodded and hurried off.  
----

Somewhere in the midst of battle, Jin had managed to get near Katara, Aang and Toph, and Iroh was not very far from them either. "It won't be much longer," Iroh called to her and she looked over at him.

"What won't?" she asked.

"The eclipse. My firebending's been effected already." She looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun already looked darker than usual. She then looked at Iroh and began to worry, knowing that other than firebending, he really didn't have any other weapons.

"How much longer?" she called over the commotion.

"About a half hour!" he answered back.

"Look out!" shouted Aang, and he blew away a firebendering coming up from behind Jin. Knowing that having a conversation right now would not be the best idea, she continued fighting.

"Sokka and Zuko should be here soon," said Karata when Jin was close enough to hear.

"Where's the firelord?" asked Jin, noticing now for the first time she hadn't seen him anywhere.

"Probably hiding away and waiting for the right moment to strike," called Iroh. "He knows better than to show up at the front of the line on the day of black sun while our army remains strong."

"But that defeats the whole point of even doing this on the day of black sun!" shouted Jin, and she whipped around in time to cut down another soldier.

"Don't give up hope yet," shouted Aang. "He has to come out sooner or later"  
----

"That's the last cell, Zuko!" called one of the earthbenders. Zuko frowned, saddened that he hadn't found her, but knew there were more important things.

"Get the rest of the survivors to the shelter then meet back by the bison. The others will be needing us." They obeyed and headed out, Zuko following behind, wondering now if he'd ever find out what his mother's fate had been. As he walked out, he passed Sokka and turned to him.

"I just sent the last of my men out," said Sokka and Zuko nodded. "And I found someone who may interest you..." He stepped aside and one of the earthbenders came out, helping a woman walk the last of the hall. She looked very weak and tired, but when her eyes met up with Zuko's a bit of light entered her face.

Zuko stood shaking, a haunting feeling passing through him, and he stood there, forgetting how to move, unsure of what to say. "Zuko? Zuko, my love, is it you?" she asked, moving closer. Tears fell down his face and he ran to her.

She stepped away from the earthbender who had been helping support her and half collapsed in his arms. Zuko caught her before she could fall and was stunned at how thin she felt. "Oh Zuko!" she cried and he was still at a loss for words. All these years of thinking she was dead, all the nights she'd haunted him in his dreams... and she was here... alive! Thin and sickly, but alive! It was almost too good to be true. "I missed you so much," she wept, clinging on to him.

"I missed you, Mother," he said, his voice breaking as the tears fell freely. "Father told me you were dead..." She stepped away a little and he let go of her when he was certain she could stand on her own. She placed a hand on his scar and made the concerned motherly look he hadn't seen in years.

"What happened to your face?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter," he said, not wanting to talk about that now. She stroked it a little more, the concern not leaving her eyes.

"Prince Zuko, everyone's ready to leave!" called out an earthbender. Zuko silently cursed the fact that he had to be torn away from her so soon, but knew if they won there'd be plenty of time to catch up with her later.

"Take my mother back to the shelter," he ordered to the earthbender who had been supporting her. "Are you one of the ones staying behind to lookout?"

"Yes, sir," he answered.

"All right then." He looked at his mother and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Take care of yourself," he said gently. "I'll see you again as soon as I can, I promise." He stood back and watched for a moment as she was escorted away, and then hurried to Appa, jumping on and gripping the saddle as Sokka got him flying.

They passed over the battleground and Zuko's mind slowly shifted from his mother to Jin, and a new dread filled his heart as he realized the numbers left in their army had decreased significantly and the Fire Nation army still seemed overbearing. He searched around and spotted his uncle and Jin, not too far away from the heart of the battle, and when Appa landed, he headed right in their direction as fast as he could.

Jin was beginning to feel weariness creeping on from fighting for the last few hours strait, but the army was advancing so rapidly that she hardly had time to stop and catch her breath. A firebender lunged at her and she dodged, but lost her footing, falling over backwards on the hard ground. She groaned in pain but when she went to stand, the firebender was ready to hit her. "Jin!" shouted a voice, and a blaze of fire launched the firebender a good five feet away from her. A hand reached down to help her up and she took it with a smile.

"Thanks, Zuko," she said softly. He smiled briefly at her, then began fighting alongside her, finding himself protecting her more than himself, though it became apparent she really didn't need that much protection. His uncle had taught her well with the broadswords, and he was a little amazed so see her cut her way through some of the attackers.

"Zuko!" shouted a voice and he glanced over. His uncle was standing with a firebender in a headlock and pointed up to the sky. "The sun!"

Jin looked up and around her everyone else seemed to stop and look. It was a strange thing for the battle to pause so suddenly, but what was taking place, none of them had seen before. It started with everything starting to grow dark, but then the sun was blacked out entirely, and everything became very dark. It was almost as if it were night time. Beside her, Zuko suddenly groaned, and Jin snapped around, looking at him in concern. "You okay?" she asked, still panting from fighting.

"I'm fine..." he said, but the truth was he felt a little dizzy. The sudden abscence of his firebending made it feel like a part of his energy had all the sudden be shut off. He glanced over at his uncle who had about the same slightly disoriented look, and around the the Fire Nation army all seemed to suddenly stop, some of them placing their hands on their foreheads, others balancing themselves as a rush of dizzyness passed over them.

Knowing without trying that he couldn't firebend, he drew his new broadswords, secretly eager to test them out, and the rest of the army took advantage of the Fire Nation's moment of hesitation, attacking with full force. Jin was stunned at how quickly some of them dropped. It was as if they had not been taught any form of defense outside of firebending. "This fight doesn't seem fair," she called out. Sokka heard her.

"They've murdered thousands over the last hundred years, Jin!" he shouted out over the crowd. "Fair left the building a long time ago." Jin knew he had a point and went with it. Not all of them were completely defensless. In fact, Jin ran into a few that were very powerful still, and she nearly got herself killed a few times, but someone would always step in to help her... usually Zuko.

They didn't fight for very long when suddenly they heard Katara shout out, "They're retreating!" Jin couldn't believe her ears, but when she looked out, she found that sure enough the crowd was beginning to turn and flee.

"I can't believe it..." she said, standing there stunned. Zuko stepped up next to her.

"Don't," he said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, his hands gripping the handles of his swords tightly. "Things aren't always as they appear,  
especially here."

"If it seems too good to be true," said Iroh, taking a fighting stance. "...then it probably is."

"Stay on your guard!" shouted Sokka's father over the crowd, but a few of them seemed not to heed the warning, not thinking they were in any danger.

For the next five minutes there was silence, but on Aang's order, they did not move. Some of the soldiers began to grumble, not seeing a point in standing there if it was obvious that they had won, but Aang reminded them that it was not over until the Firelord was taken down.

They waited and waited, and soon even Jin began to feel it was really over. But just as she started to sheath her blades, Toph spoke up, snapping into her attack stance. "Someone's coming!" Everyone snapped back into fighting positions along with her and Jin pulled out her blades again.

"Wait," said Sokka suddenly, looking towards Toph. "Did you just say 'someone'? As in just one person?" The paused, feeling the earth for a moment, then nodded.

"I can only feel one coming towards us... and a few others following behind further."

"I wonder who the one is?" asked Jin, glancing at Zuko. Zuko's eyes darkened.

"I have a feeling..." he said. "But I hope I'm wrong."

They waited for another minute before the man finally showed up, and when he stepped into veiw, for a moment he seemed to be towering all of them. He looked very powerful and intimidating, and Jin felt herself shrink back a little, but Zuko stood firm.

"The eclipse it nearly over!" shouted Sokka's father's voice, and Jin looked up at the sky.

"What?!" shouted Sokka. "I thought that was supposed to last the rest of the day!"

"And eclipse never does," said Iroh, readying himself to firebend. "But we still have a good ten minutes."

"Then why do they call it the 'day' of black sun?! Why not the 'moment'?! Or something a little more accurate!"

"We're running out of time!" shouted Aang. "This day will end with Soazin's comet, and if we don't end this by then..."

"Everything will be lost..." said Jin, her eyes lowering. Zuko glanced at her, opening his mouth to say something, but his attention was called back to the man approaching when someone shouted, "It's the Firelord!"

Jin stared at the towering villain approaching and her heart was pounding. She had not felt so afraid yet, but now... something about him scared her badly. She could feel herself beginning to shake when Zuko's words distracted her for a moment. "Don't be afraid, Jin," he said softly. She nodded but groaned suddenly as her back began to seize up. Zuko looked at her and noticed the burns for the first time. "Promise me one thing," he said softly. "If that becomes too painful... or you get hurt bad enough that you can't fight... promise me you'll get yourself out of here." She looked at him,  
ready to object but he cut in before she could. "My father's taken enough away from me. I'm not losing you too." She nodded.

"Five minutes left!" shouted Iroh. Already Zuko could feel his strength returning. The Firelord stopped a safe distance away and stood there, doing nothing.

"What's he waiting for?" asked Sokka.

"Probably for the eclipse to end," said Katara.

"Three minutes!" shouted Iroh.

"Everyone, attack now!" shouted Aang. "While he's still unable to firebend!  
Bring him down!"

Zuko turned to Jin and said quickly, "I love you," then gave a cry and began running towards the firelord, his blades drawn. He was followed by the rest of the army and Jin began running as well with a shout, knowing this was it.  
All or nothing.  
----

(A/N: I'm ending the chapter here, but I'm picking it right back up now and I'll try to update again tonight.)


	30. Chapter 30

(A/N: Ugh! No updates on when season 3 starts and I'm about ready to go all Hulk angry on Nickelodeon! I wanna see what happens next!!!) 

The army advanced on the Firelord, their hearts set on finally putting an end to him. Zuko's heart was filled with the most rage out of all of them, each step he took reminding him of his sister, the years he'd spent believing his mother was dead, and his scar. His father had not only had power over these people, but he'd had power over him, and it was time to end it. Iroh was by his side, ready to attack, and Jin was not far, her blades drawn, though her eyes still showed a hint of fear.

As the army drew close, Zuko suddenly felt a surge of energy enter his body, and he knew his firebending had returned. A feeling of dread passed through him as he realized what that also meant. "Get ready!" he shouted, not taking his eyes off his father. Just as he expected, the minute the sky began to lighten again, his father raised his arms, and blue fire began to line them. Knowing exactly what was coming, Zuko quickly ran out of the way as a wave of blue fire was shot out to the advancing army. He turned to look, seeing several men fall, but saw Aang, Sokka, Toph, Katara, and Jin had all managed to get out of the way in time.

"There's more of them!" shouted a voice and Zuko looked out, seeing the few others Toph had mentioned sensing. They were 9 of the most powerful firebenders who were supposed to guard and fight alongside the Firelord.

"Bring them down!" shouted Zuko. "Bring them down!" The army listened and turned their course for the nine, while Zuko remained where he was. Jin came up to him and looked at him.

"Aren't you helping us?" she asked.

"You go with them," he said. "My battle's here." Jin looked at him unsure, but then ran towards the nine while Zuko stayed behind with Aang and a few earthbenders and waterbenders, all of them ready to attack Ozai. Zuko watched Jin leave, then turned to face his father, his blood running cold when he saw his father was watching Jin as well, then slowly looked back at him, piecing together very quickly the nature of his son's relationship with the girl. Zuko knew now if he didn't succeed, more lives would be in danger than his own, and with a shout he charged.  
----

Jin ran to the men and picked one of them as her target. Beside her ran Iroh and she felt relatively safer with him there. "Be quicky on your feet, Jin!" he shouted as they advanced. "These firebenders are not like the others. They are more powerful and deadly. If they get the chance, they will kill you, so don't give it to them." She nodded and braced herself.

The group seemed to divive off into groups which ganged up on the firebenders, and Jin went with the last, Iroh staying close beside her. "Jin, jump!" shouted Iroh, and she looked at him confused, but when the firebender took a stance, his hands pointed to the ground, she knew exactly what was happening. A blue wave shot out, headed strait for the legs to the army, and she and Iroh jumped up in the air just in time, along with a few who thought to do it. The rest collapsed with cries of agony, clinging on to their blistered and burned legs. Jin felt like she was going to be sick, but didn't have time to, because before she could even gag, the firebender shot out a wall of blue flames. Iroh jumped in front of Jin and was able to bend the flames away from both of them, and a number of the men who were within his range. Unfortunately he could not save all of them, and for those who did not manage to get out of the way, that blow alone was enough to finish them off.

Jin charged at the firebender who in turn attempted to hit her, but she dodged, the heat singeing her face. Iroh fired a few blasts of his own, and Jin barely had time to get out of the way when a sudden blaze of lightning was fired directly at her. Iroh finally gave her a chance to go in for an attack when he fired at the firebender's feet, knocking him out of his attack stance and throwing him off entirelf for a few seconds. Jin leapt at him, blades gleaming in the now fully returned sunlight, and she didn't hesitate to get in a stab. Her blade went right through his chest and he fell on his knees with a cry. She raised the other blade and, keeping the dozens of burned bodies laying a few feet behind her in her mind, she swung quick and hard, and the firebender's head hit the ground with a thud, rolling away from them and into the dust.

"Well done, Jin," said Iroh. "Perhaps a little morbid, but well done." She nodded, and hurried with him to help the others.  
----

"I always knew you were a traitor!" roared Ozai as he fired at Zuko who dodged and fired back. "You've abandoned our people and everything you believe, all for an Earth Kingdom peasant!"

"Everything I've believed was a lie!" shouted Zuko. "And we burried my sister, your daughter, yesterday! You're the traitor!" Ozai fired at him again, and this time Zuko was not so quick to dodge, his right shoulder recieving significant burns. He gave a shout of pain, but did not drop his weapons. Aang launched a tornado at Ozai which managed to distract the firelord, but did not do any damage, and Zuko fired at him again.

"You will not win this fight!" Ozai shouted at Zuko. "You will fail and I will see that girl of yours burn till the flesh recoils from her bones!"

"You won't touch her!" roared Zuko and blasted blue flames at him, hitting him square in the chest. Unfortunately, Ozai had managed to repeal the flames, saving himself from any burning, but the force was enough to knock him off his feet. Zuko saw his chance and ran to him, his blades drawn. He held one to his father's throat, but rather than begging for his life as Zuko half expected him to, Ozai smiled maliciously and glanced over at what was left of the army.

"Oh look at that... she's still alive..." Zuko glanced out and spotted Jin,  
fighting alongside Iroh. "But not for long..."

At that moment, the final of the nine whom they were all gaining on fired a blast of lightning that went through three men, and the explosion at the end launched Jin backwards like a ragdoll, and she crashed into the mountain side behind her. She fell completely limp and did not move. "JIN!" shouted Zuko, forgetting about his father, and before he could do anything, a blaze of fire launched him up in the air, and his head struck the ground violently,  
knocking him unconcious.  
----

Jin opened her eyes, every inch of her body aching, and for a moment she couldn't move, let alone get up. She lay there for a moment when finally she was able to push herself up slowly with her right arm. Her left arm was searing with pain and she glanced at it to see what was wrong. It was already swelling up badly, and she knew immediatly it was broken. It hurt so bad and she cried out in pain when it moved as she stood up, and she knew she was no longer able to fight. Iroh came running to her, seeming a little relieved that she was up and moving.

"You need to get yourself out of here," he said. "There's a very small cave-like opening if you follow the edge of this mountain. Hide in it and I'll make sure no one comes near you." She didn't argue and hurried away. She found the opening Iroh had mentioned and saw it did not go into the mountain very far at all, but enough for her to disappear from veiw of anyone who would merely glance down the side of the mountain. She sat down in there, leaning against the rocky wall and listening as the battle commenced.

For a long while there were shouts, blazes of fire, and violent attacks, some of which came dangerously close to where she was hiding, but by mercy alone, she was not found by any of them. Some men even died not too far away, and all the emotion she'd been surpressing returned, and she turned her face away from it, closing her eyes and trying to ignore it all.

When things became very quiet, she began to worry.  
----

Sokka glanced behind him when everything suddenly went quiet and he realized they were all staring at something approaching. Water Tribe ships made port, and the armies aboard leapt out, running towards the battle with shouts and he smiled, realizing now that for the first time, they outnumbered the Fire Nation.  
-  
Jin waited for a while, then, standing up, she stepped out slowly, looking around nervously. She didn't have enough time to react. A blaze of fire in the shape of a twisting cord shot out, wrapped around her ankles and ripped her away, draggin her across the ground screaming, both from fear and from her ankle burning from the flames.

She zipped past Iroh who gave a shout when he saw what had happened and with a bolt of lightning, the chord released her, but she tumbled and rolled across the ground screaming, the bone in her arm getting knocked even further out of place. She stopped rolling when she collided with a body laying on the ground, and she felt her heart pounding as she immediatly thought she'd collided with one of the dead.

When she saw it was Zuko, she nearly screamed again, but he opened his eyes and groaned and she sighed with relief. He'd only been unconcious. "Jin?" he asked, but before he could say more, a strong hand clamped down on the back of Jin's clothing, the touch causing her burned and now bleeding back to sear up with pain. He lifted her right off her feet, kicking and screaming, and held her up.

"Let her go!" shouted Zuko, getting to his feet and facing his father in blinding anger. Ozai's hand ignited and he held it towards Jin.

"You are a disgrace, my son!" he shouted. "You could have had it all and you threw it away for this gutter rat!" He shook Jin violently and she cried out in pain. "Suffering will always be your teacher..." He pressed his burning hand on Jin's neck and she screamed in agony.

"NO!" shouted Zuko, charging and him with tears streaming down his face.

"And pain will be your master!"

He began to close down on Jin's throat, intending to burn through it, but a blast of fire from behind made him lose his grip on her and he dropped her. Zuko ran to Jin, who was clutching at her blistered throat and trying to sit up, using her good arm to position her, and he helped her up.

Iroh, who had stopped the firelord from killing Jin stood in a fighting stance, ready to strike, and Jin drew a broadsword with her good arm and pointed it at him, standing on the opposite side of Iroh. Zuko stood in the center, remaining in a fighting stance.

Aang, who was not too far away stared at the Firelord who was surrounded by Jin, Iroh, and Zuko, and then glanced at Toph who was not far, Katara who was practically by his side, and then at the Water Tribe which had arrived, a large platform on wheels being rolled by among them which carried a giant cauldron of water for fighting with. He looked at all of these and formed a plan to defeat the Firelord with all four elements, the way it was meant to be done. "Toph, Katara! Come here! I have a plan!" they ran to him and he quickly told them what it was.

The Firelord took turns glancing at the three that surrounded him and smiled maliciously. "So this is the was it's going to be?" he asked. None of them moved or answered. He stared Zuko in the eye. "My own son, a traitor. You've disgraced me and your family!"

"Somehow I'll live with that," said Zuko darkly.

"I have two arms and three opponents. Two of you I can kill, but one of you will remain..." Jin's heart began to pound as she looked at Zuko, afraid to lose him again. She looked at Iroh as well and felt even more afraid. She loved them both dearly and Iroh had become like family to her while Zuko was her lover. "In the end," continued the Firelord, "It all comes down to who will suffer the most." He spread out his arms and before anyone could do anything he fired out two bolts of lightning, striking his two targets at once.

Jin crumpled to the ground, and Iroh fell, both of them landing like ragdolls, completely limp and lifeless. Zuko stood for a moment, his body so addled it didn't know whether to walk, run, stand, sit... his head was racing and his heart was pounding. The confusion quickly turned to rage and his body began shaking with fury. He stared at his opponent, not caring anymore and drew his broadswords, blue flames encircling them both. He charged at his father and began to fight him with more anger than he'd ever used before in his life.

Not too far away, the others had seen what had happened and Katara gasped, placing a hand over her mouth and Sokka and Aang stood speechless. Toph looked as if she didn't know how to react, but it was obvious she had felt what had happened. "Now!" shouted Aang when he found his voice. "While he's distracted!" They went running forwards, but Toph suddenly stopped when she passed Jin.

"Her heart... it's still beating," she said. Katara looked down at Jin, then at Zuko who still had the Firelord busy, and knew she had time. Hoping just regular water would be enough, she pulled opened her pouch and the water flowed out and into her hand. When it began to glow she held it over the spot where Jin had been hurt. At first, nothing would happen, but she focused all her energy on it and slowly it absorbed in, and the wound healed. Katara knew it was nothing short of a miracle that plain water had actaully worked, but there wasn't time to stare at it in awe. Her father came running up to her and she looked at him.

"Take her a safe distance from here," she said. "We're about to end this." Her father obeyed and picked up Jin, who was slowly slipping back into conciousness, and Katara and Toph hurried up with the others to fight. Taking her stance and spreading her arms apart Toph opened the ground beneath the Firelord, and he fell in to his waist. He spun around and fired at Toph, but Zuko got in the way just in time, bending the flame away from her. Now that he was trapped, Katara bent the water inside the large cauldron and, taking as much as she could handle, she sent it strait to the Firelord, letting it encircle his body, freezing solid and trapping him.  
----

Jin woke and looked around, finding herself laying about ten feet away from where she had been struck, and for a moment couldn't remember what had happened. When a familiar squawking noise sounded beside her, she remembered everything and sat up, looking at the crow that sat beside her,  
squawking loudly. The eerie feeling she'd had when she'd first seen it came back and she sat up very slowly looked out at the battle, beginning to worry again.  
----

Aang conjured up a powerful freezing wind that froze the ice even further, making certain to freeze him to death as the ice engulfed the Ozai's face, and Zuko gritted his teeth, wanting to have the final blow. Focusing all his hatred at his father, he blasted out a large ball of blue flames and it struck the icy statue with such powerful force that it made him scoot backwards a few inches. Ozai was so frozen that the blow caused him to explode into thousands of shards, almost as if he were made of glass.

They stood there silent and stunned, no one knowing what exactly to do, and then, starting with the Water Tribe, there came a cry of victory, which flowed through to the earthbenders, and then Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka. Zuko wanted to cheer, but couldn't. The sounds of loud sobbing caught his attention and he looked down at where Jin had been laying. She was no longer there, and he looked to where Iroh was. He still lay there, but he was not alone.  
----

After the explosion, the crow took off and began to fly where it happened and Jin began to feel relieved, hoping it had only been the Firelord's approaching death she had felt, but when the crow flew past where he had stood, she knew it was not so, and stood up, despite the protests of the man who had brought her there and she staggered forward through the cheering soldiers, their voices and bodies all like a blur.

As she drew closer, the tears were all ready falling as the knew what she would find, but she staggered through until she was by his side, then collapsed on her knees, staring down at his lifeless body. At first she stared at him, and when tears blinded her vision, she looked up to the sky and let out a shreik of anguish, and then she collapsed over him, sobbing loudly, everyone around her too busy cheering to notice.

Zuko ran to her and stared down at his uncle, shaking. He collapsed beside Jin, at first placing a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her, but when his own tears came, he couldn't do it, and he looked out to Katara desperately. She locked eyes with him and came running, a handful of water ready for use. Zuko moved out of the way, taking Jin with him, and they watched, tears falling down Jin's face as she waited, her heart pounding. The water glowed over Katara's hands and, focusing like she had before, she pressed down. The water did not absorb in or start to heal anything, so she tried harder. She focused all she had on him and tried until the sweat was falling down her face. Nothing happened and the water fell from her hands and onto the dirt below her.

She looked at Jin and Zuko, shaking her head, and Jin collapsed with sobs and Zuko stood up, tears rolling down his face. He didn't want to be there, now that the people were gathering, and he turned and fled, running as fast as he could in a direction he didn't care about, not caring where he was going and not knowing if he'd ever stop. People were gathering, Jin was sobbing, and they would all be talking soon. He wouldn't understand them, he wouldn't recognize him, and he didn't want to be near them.

He ran and ran, and Jin watched helplessly as he left before the pain from her injuries returned, and, overwhelmed by it all, she gave way to darkness.  
----


	31. Chapter 31

(A/N: I went to bed bawling last night because of that last chapter. This next one, in one of the sections, is based off my feelings and everything that went through at my own uncle's funeral. It was so surreal and baffling that my emotions literally shut down for a moment and I had no reaction to my surroundings. The anniversary of his death is drawing close, and in a way I guess this chapter is dedicated to him. Oh, and for clarification, Jin was only struck my lightning once. The thing that hit her in the beginning was the bolt of lightning exploding when it hit the last person, and the force was what launched her. Yeah, I'm not about to go too unrealistic here and have her get struck twice and still survive, lol. On we go.) 

That night was filled with burying the dead, healing the wounded, and mourning those who had not survived. They wanted to celebrate, but everything still seemed very dark, even with the knowledge that the war was finally over. Aang, Sokka, Toph, and some of the armies were the only ones who managed to be cheerful, but Jin, Katara, and those who had lost loved ones, took time to mourn, though trying to remember that they had given their lives for freedom, and it had been worth the price. That night, they all stayed in the underground shelter with the prisoners who had been freed.

Jin was grateful she had regained consciousness after her arm had been set and healed, and Katara had managed to heal all her burns and injuries. The spot where the lightning had struck was healed, but a scar remained in its place, and she knew Katara was lucky enough she had gotten the wound itself healed. She couldn't care less about the scar.

At the moment, she didn't really care about anything. Her heart was heavy with grief, the crow was flying around in her imagination, still squawking loudly and tormenting her. Iroh's body was not going to be burried with the others, but would be placed in the royal burial chamber near the palace. The loss was so raw in her mind, and a few moments after she'd awoken, the tears came and she wept alone, everyone leaving her alone respectfully, knowing it was best to give her space.

Jin knew she had to get up soon and move around, but she didn't have the strength to, the old man's friendly smile burned into her mind, and all she wanted now was to see it again, to have him walk up to her and tell her it had all been a bad dream. But he never came, and her heart remained broken as she wept.

About a half hour later, when she couldn't even cry anymore, a woman walked over to her and looked down at her, concern written on her half- starved face. "Have you seen my son?" she asked. Jin looked at her, wondering who she was talking about, but when she recognized some facial features, she gasped.

"You're Zuko's mother?" she asked.

"Yes," she said softly, giving a sad smile. "Have you seen him anywhere?" That's when she remembered him turning and running away, the tears streaming across his cheeks.

"He hasn't come back?" she asked, standing up.

"He wasn't with the others..." Her voice trailed and her concern turned to worry. "He didn't...?"

"No!" said Jin, shaking her head. "No, he was still alive. He ran when he found out that Iroh..." she couldn't even finish the sentence without the tears rolling and Ursa nodded in understanding.

"I hope he's all right..." she said softly. "I haven't seen my daughter either." Jin's heart sank even lower as she realized she had to be the one to tell her.

"Azula... she died yesterday," said Jin softly. "Ozai poisoned her and tried to kill her. Zuko tried to save her, but she got an infection and... there was nothing we could do." Ursa closed her eyes, pain etched all over her face. It was true that she had not connected with Azula as well as she had Zuko, but Azula was still her daughter, and she still loved her despite all of it. And knowing now that she'd been betrayed in the worst way by the one she had come to depend on, she felt a lot of grief from that loss. "I'm so sorry," said Jin softly. "We tried to help her, we really did..."

"I know," said Ursa. "Good people like you... you would try hard, even for someone like her." A tear rolled down her face and she sighed.

"If it's any consolation," said Jin. "She had a bit of a change of heart at the end. And she died very peacefully." Ursa nodded.

"I am glad to hear that," she whispered. "I hope my son comes back soon."

"He loved Iroh very much," said Jin. "I guess he was almost like a father to him." Ursa smiled sadly.

"I always knew Iroh would take good care of my son. He was always supportive of him, even when Zuko's father was not." She sighed. "I've just learned about Zuko being exiled, and I'm certain that scar on his face was from his father." Jin nodded to confirm her suspicion. "But when they told me that Iroh stayed with him the entire time... I knew he was all right."

"He was a good man," said Jin, looking down as tears fell down her face.

"You knew him well then, I take it," she asked. Jin nodded.

"He was almost like family to me as well," she confessed. "He was there for me through a lot too. Taught me how to fight with the broadswords... as well as the difference between Jasmine and Ginsegn tea..." She managed to chuckle a little though the tears, and she looked up at Ursa. "He really was a good man," she repeated.

"Are you the one then?" she asked. Jin looked at her slightly confused.

"The one?"

"My son had his ear pierced to show he had someone he loved waiting for him. It's you isn't it," she said as more of a statement than a question. Jin nodded and smiled sadly.

"Your son is also a good man," she said softly. "And I love him very much." Ursa smiled at the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm glad to know that"  
----

Grief was passing through every inch of his body. It started in his heart, then flowed through his veins into his brain, and then spread throughout his chest. When it reached his legs he could run no further and he collapsed, tears rolling down his face and he looked up at the sky angrily. "Why are you always against me?!" he shouted as if to an unseen being above. "What have I ever done to you?! Why him? Why him?! He was all I had!" He dropped his head and began to weep. "He was all I had..."

He of course got no answer from the sky, and he slammed his fists to the ground in anger, ready to give up. He drew one of the broadswords and stared at his reflection in it. He had several stray hairs that had fallen in front of his face, and there were cuts and bruises he hadn't realized he had gotten. His eyes were bloodshot from tears, and the tears still flowed down his face. He looked down at his arms, his sleeves torn and in some places singed. He pulled them up and out of the way and stared down, his veins almost seeming to bulge out, calling to him.

For a moment, it was as if his heart had even stopped beating, and he looked up at the sky in surrender. "If it's my fate to suffer forever..." he said holding his arm out. "Then I defy you stars!" He held the blade to his skin, but before he could cut, a voice spoke to him.

"After everything you've survived, you're so ready to give up now?" His blood went cold and he turned staring at the spiritual figure before him, his aged features frowning slightly at him. It was his uncle, but it was just the spirit of him, not the actual physical form.

"Uncle?" he gasped, shaking as he stared at him.

"You're letting pain and denial drive your life so badly, you've forgotten those who are waiting for you at home." Zuko shook his head.

"I haven't forgotten," he said softly.

"You have if you believe I was all you had left."

"Uncle... you may not be all that was left, but you were a huge part of me." He lowered his head. "I know I pushed you away so many times, and I did a lot of things that made me so undeserving, but you showed me kindness, wisdom, and love when no one else would." He voice cracked. "I always needed you, even when I thought I didn't. And now when I need you most of all... you're gone." He fell to his knees again in tears and Iroh's spirit shook his head.

"My nephew, I needed you as well," he said gently. "And I knew you needed me. I always knew. That's why I never really abandoned you. And I think the one you were just yelling at understood that as well. Why else do you think I survived Azula's attack months ago?"

"If he understood, then why did he take you away!" demanded Zuko.

"Because, you now have others who need you, and who you in turn need. I think he let me stay around because he knew you needed someone, and now that you've found Jin and your mother, it's all right if I die."

"It was never all right," said Zuko. "I don't know if I can live without you." Iroh bent down beside him and embraced him. The sensation was very spiritual and a little frightening for Zuko at the same time.

"The love I had for you will never die, Prince Zuko. It will live on in your heart, so in a way I've left a piece of my soul behind with you, and you'll have it until the day we meet again. And we will meet again, Prince Zuko, so take comfort in that. It's not really over."

Zuko smiled through tears and nodded. "Say hello to Lu Ten for me," he said softly.

"I will," he said with a smile. "Now hurry back to the others. There's a young woman I'm sure who is dying to see you." Zuko nodded. "Tell her I said hello," he said, and walked away, vanishing in a bright flash of light. As he left he was singing and Zuko smiled, the tears still flowing as much,  
but the pain easing up a little.

"Leaves from the vine... falling so slow. Like fragile tiny shells drifting in the foam... Little soldier boy... come marching home. Brave soldier boy comes marching home..."

A blinding light suddnely shone behind him and he turned watching in awe as a large flaming comet came crashing down right where the battle had been. It was Sozin's comet, and a small feeling of joy went through him. With that simple crash, the war was really over, and his father's role in the Fire Nation's tyranny had ended. And now, knowing he had to face what was coming, he stood up and began heading back to the others.  
----

Jin sat by a group fire when she felt like she had the strength to face people again, and she was welcomed warmly by Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph. "Have you heard any word from Zuko yet?" asked Katara. She shook her head. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"I hope he's all right," said Jin. "Iroh was practically everything to him."

"He meant a lot to you too, didn't he," said Katara softly. Jin nodded, fighting back tears.

"I think you should stop talking about it, Katara," said Aang.

"Yeah," said Sokka. "Give the girl a break." Beside him, Suki lay nuzzled up to him, and the sight of them together made Jin miss Zuko even more. She stood up slowly and headed out through the opening, wanting some fresh air. Night had fallen already and a few stragglers were heading in, some of them returning from burrying their dead.

"You missed the show," said one of them.

"What?" asked Jin.

"Sozin's comet," said the other. "It struck a few minutes ago, right were the Firelord was destroyed."

"I didn't hear anything," she said.

"Well go check it out for yourself, I'm sure there's a huge crater there. I can't believe you didn't hear it!" She shrugged and let them walk past her. She thought about going to see it but decided not too. Wandering away from these people was not a good idea, and she wanted to be there when Zuko returned.

She did not have to wait very long. In the distance she saw a flame, almost like a torch and before it was even close enough she knew it was him. Darting down in his direction, she ran to him and stopped when she was nearly a foot away from him. He stared at her for a moment, then let the flame in his hand flicker off. She stared at him and then spoke. "I was so worried about-" but before she could finish his mouth came down on hers amd he kissed her with more fury and passion than she knew he was capable of. She could feel the tears falling down his face and when he pulled away she saw he was weeping.

He sank to his knees and burried his face into her stomach, and she placed her hands on the back of his head, pressing him close to her. She knew now he needed her as badly as she needed him, and now, they wouldn't have to be alone through this.  
----

(A/N: No, this is not the end. There's still more so don't panick.)


	32. Chapter 32

(A/N: I learned something very sad yesterday. You know in the episode  
"The Tales of Ba Sing Se" at the end of Iroh's tale it says "In Honor of  
Mako." I found out that Mako was the voice of Iroh. From the sounds of it  
he got sick and did fairly quickly. I had no idea and now I'm sad cuz I don't  
think anyone could do a better Iroh. But I thought that was even more sad  
considering what just happened in this fic… It may also offer an explanation  
as to why season 3 is taking its dear sweet time in arriving… I've changed  
my avatar on a web forum to that image just for him. Mako, you'll be  
missed greatly. You and your tea.)

Jin fell asleep in Zuko's arms that night, finally finding comfort that night,  
and she slept soundly, Zuko dozing off shortly after her. When she woke the  
next morning, she was alone again, but she felt better. There was still a  
cloud of grief hanging over her heart, but now it was easier to manage.  
When she went out to find Zuko, she noticed everyone was beginning to  
pack up. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We're going to the palace," said Katara. "Zuko announced this morning he  
will accept the throne and be crowned the new Firelord." Jin looked at her  
unsure.

"I thought he was finally free of it…" she muttered.

"It's not a bad thing. He'll be the one who will finally bring peace between  
the Firenation and… well everyone else," she assured her.

"She's right," said her father, who came up from behind carrying a heavy  
looking pack. "The Firelords weren't always enemies with everyone else. It  
used to be we all lived in peace, but that was way before my time," he  
chuckled, walking off.

"And now it's about to go back to that," said Katara. "It's going to take  
time. There's still many Fire Nation armies that have to be pulled out of  
battles, and Zuko needs to be crowned soon, so we're getting back to the  
palace as fast as we can." Jin nodded and watched as she left. Not having  
anything she needed to pack, she continued her search for Zuko.

As she wandered around past all the soldiers and freed prisoners, she began  
to wonder how long it would take before order was restored. Creating and  
enforcing peace was not going to be easy, and it would be a large  
responsibility for him. He would have his mother there to help advise him,  
she remembered, and that would be of help to him. And the avatar was there  
to help with most of the world's issues. It would take efforts from more than  
just the Fire Nation, but for the first time in many many years, peace was  
drawing close.

Zuko would be crowned soon as Firelord and all would be well… And that  
was when it hit her. He would be crowned… he would be fully returning to  
the royal life… in the Fire Nation... and she was from Ba Sing Se, the Earth  
Kingdom Capitol which had been enemies with the Fire Nation for so long.  
And her parents, who were probably worried sick about her, would hate and  
blame him for her leaving and never allow her to be with him... yet she  
knew she couldn't avoid going home. She missed her family very much and  
wanted to see them again, but if seeing them meant losing the love of her  
life... she didn't know if it was really worth it. She had a decision to make,  
and she would have to make it soon.  
----

Iroh's body was placed on a large cart that had been cleared off of  
everything, a blanket covering over him and it was guided around by two  
men. Jin watched as he was placed on there, tears coming to her eyes again,  
and she hugged herself, hating the sight of him so empty of life.

A hand grasped her shoulder gently and she turned to look at Zuko who had  
snuck up from behind her. He saw the tears falling down her face, and  
before he could ask, he glanced out and saw what was happening. He  
stepped up behind her locking his arm in front of her, just below her  
shoulders and he locked his other arm over her waist, resting his head on her  
shoulder. He pressed her close to him and she felt comforted, but the tears  
still fell.

"I saw him," he whispered softly in her ear. "I saw him leave this world,  
Jin." She stood silently, not knowing what to say to him. "He looked great."

"Like a guardian angel," she said softly, thinking of how he'd been there for  
her as well as Zuko when they had needed him. He had been their guardian  
angel in a way, which made saying goodbye all the more painful.

They boarded Appa together along with Katara, Aang, Sokka, Toph, Suki,  
and Ursa, while the armies agreed to follow on foot behind. Iroh's funeral  
would be at nightfall, and Zuko's crowning at dawn. After that there would  
be places to go to, Omashu being on the top of the list, and Jin knew Ba  
Sing Se would no doubt be a stop as well since the Earth King was still with  
them. She pushed that thought away and tried to just focus on her worries  
for the day. And as she watched the wounded and sickly getting helped  
along as Appa flew over, she knew there would be plenty to deal with today.  
----

The funeral was harder than any of them had thought it would be. In  
tradition, Iroh's body was placed on a pire to be burned, and the ashes would  
later be placed in a royal urn and placed in the burial chamber along with  
the ancestors before him. They all stood by the pire, five firebenders  
surrounding it, and Jin stood beside Zuko, though not looking at him once.  
Staring at Iroh's body was painful, but looking at Zuko's face was just as  
bad, if not, worse.

Zuko gave the signal and the pire was ignited by the five firebenders.  
Everyone around was awfully silent and Jin could feel her heart breaking all  
over again. Tears overwhelmed her eyes and she tried not to let them fall,  
not wanting to look weak now. She'd been weak for too long, and it was  
time to be strong again. But she felt as if a weight was piling on her chest  
and she sniffled involuntarily.

She closed her eyes, unable to look anymore and turned away. Zuko glanced  
at her, and before he could stop her she ran away, leaving the sad scenery  
and out of sight. Zuko stood there for a moment, staring in the direction she  
had fled in and then turned, pausing to look at his mother as if for approval.  
When she nodded to show she understood, he left quietly, secretly not  
wanting to be there a moment longer.

He didn't have to wander far, and when he found her, she was leaning  
against the tree he'd always come to when he was young, not making a  
sound as the tears just silently made their way down her face and fell. He  
walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder as he sat down beside  
her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just couldn't..."

"I know," he said softly. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I just... I could just see it as if it was all happening again, like a reoccuring  
nightmare." He rubbed her shoulder and she looked at him with eyes  
sparkling with sadness which leaked down her cheeks. "I can still hear  
myself screaming on that battlefield..." She broke into sobs and he pulled  
her into his arms, allowing her to burry her face in his chest as she rocked  
her slowly. "I wish I could stop crying about it!" she cursed.

"It's all right, Jin," he said softly. "No one's expecting anything out of you.  
You're allowed to be weak."

"I wish I could just wake up from it. That we'd be back in the Jasmine  
Dragon drinking tea, and none of this had happened." He nodded in  
agreement. He sat with her silently and then sighed. "What's wrong?" she  
asked.

"Nothing," he answered. "I was going to do something... but it'll have to  
wait."

"What?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Nothing," he answered. "Don't worry about it now."

She closed her eyes and leaned into him again and he wrapped his arms  
around her. After a while her tears stopped, and he looked down when her  
breathing became soft. She was asleep, probably exhausted from greif, and  
he picked her up, taking great care to not wake her, and he carried her into  
the palace to a room where he could lay her in a soft bed, and she would  
sleep peacefully for the first time in two days, without a war to worry about  
the next morning, without anymore death. She could just sleep peacefully  
and escape from the world for a night.

He stared at her peaceful form and bent down and kissed her forehead, her  
cheek, and her lips. He then pulled a blanket over her to keep her warm and  
left her there to sleep peacefully, and let her mind drift away from all the  
troubles for a while.  
----  
(A/N: Ugh, short chappy! I'm sorry for this, but I had a lot of work today  
and didn't have much time to spare for writing. I apologize! Oh, and my  
senior art show video is up on youtube for those who wanted to check it out.  
It's kinda kool. Well, G2G.)


	33. Chapter 33

(A/N: I just had my last highschool classes ever today and it feels so WEIRD!!! I'm kinda sad that it's over, but I'm also kinda happy. A good friend of mine and I will be going to colleges like practically next to each other so we'll be able to hang out still, which rocks.) 

The morning was slightly chaotic. Everyone was rushing around, preparing for the ceremony, and Zuko's mother had followed him around all day, giving him advice and helping him prepare for what was to come. Though he got a little annoyed with it, he was still greatful to have her around now.  
When he got dressed in the robes and looked at himself for the first time in the mirror, he smiled. As heavy of a responsability as this all was going to be, a part of him was excited and he was not going to lie about it.

"There you are!" said his mother, hurrying in. "You'll need a topknot again." she said, reacing for his ponytail. Zuko spotted the red tie she was ready to use and he stopped her.

"Please use the old one," he said, looking at her. "It's Jin's..." She smiled and nodded. "Speaking of her," he said as she began to tie his hair in the same style Azula had pulled it into before. "Have you seen her?"

"I haven't," said Ursa. Zuko frowned.

"I'm going to go look for her," he said once she was finished.

"All right, but hurry back. You have less than an hour!" He nodded and headed for the room he had laid Jin in. When he closed the door he felt like he'd finally shut himself away into the one peaceful room in the palace, and when he looked down at the young woman, still sound asleep in the bed, he smiled at her, walking over to her and sitting on the edge of the mattress slowly. The movement made her stir a little and she opened her eyes, smiling when they met with her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a yawn.

"It's chaos out there," he said softly, kissing her forehead. She moved over and he climbed into the bed with her, laying back and breathing out a relaxing sigh.

"Won't they be looking for you?" she asked.

"Probly," he said, turning so he faced her. "But till then, you mind if I hide out here?"

"For a little while," she said with a small smile. "Then I'll have to get dressed, and you're not staying for that." He snickered a little. "You look handsome," she added, reaching out to touch his robes. They felt very silky.

"I had a servant bring you a new dress you can wear," he said. "It's made of the finest material, and I think you'll like it."

"What color?" she asked.

"Green," he said. "I figured Fire Nation red wasn't exactly your color." She smiled fully and allowed him to kiss her lips.

"You said you were going to do something last night..." she said softly. "What was it?" He thought for a moment, not exactly remembering what she was talking about, and then it came back to him.

"Oh..." he said. "I think it can wait a little longer. At least till after the ceremony. Meet me under that tree again?" She nodded.

"They'll need you at the banquet afterwards," she said softly.

"They can wait. It won't take long, I promise." She smiled and he kissed her again, then lingered on her lips. Her body felt so warm, still shaking of the last bits of sleep, and her touch was almost relaxing. He spread her lips, kissing her deeper, until she finally pulled away and sat up. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said. "I just... I trust you and all... it's just you probably shouldn't kiss me like that... on a bed... with me..."

"Ah!" he said, pulling away. "Sorry."

"No, don't be," she said with a smile. "Well, I'd better get dressed." He smiled and kissed her cheek before leaving her.  
----

Zuko stood tall, staring out into the crowd as the ceremony went on. Once he spotted Jin in the crowd, his eyes never left hers, and it was as if she was his source of strength now, his encouragement that all would work out for the better. She stood there smiling at him, her eyes glittering in the sunlight and he couldn't help but think of how beautiful she was, and he became all the more eager to meet with her after the ceremony. She was so happy and unknowing of what he was going to do. She didn't know that in a pocket, hidden in his robes, he had a golden bracelet with a rose engraved in it and a small ruby set in the center. It was the type of bracelet that symbolized something special... an engagement.

He'd made his mind up about it after he'd seen his uncle cross over, and he knew he wanted to do this. The previous night had been a funeral and she'd been too upset, but now she was standing there, smiling almost brighter than he'd ever seen, and he knew the timing would be much better. But most of all he could only picture himself with her now, through whatever would come. Every adventure he'd have to take, she'd be by his side through all of it. He truly deeply loved her, and he wanted to spend forever with her.

Zuko was so lost in the thoughts that he almost didn't notice the small crown-like headpiece get raised and he called himself back to what was going on, pushing aside his excitement for a moment. He felt it get put in place, and the realization of what was happening hit him like lightning and he looked around as the audience applauded and cheered. Their voices soon became like a blur... and he looked for Jin's face again. She was applauding and cheering as well, but he couldn't hear it. It was all too overwhelming.

A hint of sadness passed when he realized what was missing. He wished now more than ever the Iroh was there to see him. He looked up to the sky and smiled, knowing that the old man was, and nothing would keep him from watching this. That thought comforted him a little more and soon the ceremony was over, and he was able to focus on what had been driving him practically mad not too long ago.

When he was finally able to leave, he had barely gotten two steps away from the crowd when a messenger came running to him. "My lord!" he called out, and Zuko turned, giving him his full attention. "We've recieved a message from some of the soldiers in Omashu. An uprising has already begun against you. Firebenders are storming the city, taking up hostages and threatening to kill the citizens if you don't abdocate the throne." Zuko's eyes widened and he siezed the message, not believing that this was already happening. "Apparently they were loyal to your father... and only your father." Zuko sighed as he set the letter down.

"I can't believe this..." he groaned. "Send word that I'll be arriving along with a small fleet. The avatar will probably be coming with me. We'll leave before nightfall." He turned and sighed. "And we'll need to make a stop at Ba Sing Se first."  
----

Jin stood waiting by the tree, pacing around nervously as she kept an eye out for Zuko. When he did arrive his face made her frown and she began to worry. "What's wrong?" she asked. He looked up at her sadly.

"Omashu is in trouble," he said. "We need to go there as soon as we can. There's an uprising." Jin's eyes widened.

"What?" she gasped. "That's awful!"

"I know," he said. He looked at her as if it pained him to tell her what he needed to. "It's going to be dangerous... very dangerous, Jin. I can't take you with me this time." She stared at him in shock and placed her hands on her hips.

"What are you talking about?! I was in the final war with you! I even faced the Firelord!"

"And you were nearly killed too!" cried Zuko. She stared at him, her eyes softening as if she was beginning to understand. He walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I almost lost you once," he said softly. "I'm not letting that happen again. We'll be making a quick stop to Ba Sing Se, and... and you won't be following any further from there."

She looked down at the ground. "So I'm supposed to just sit there waiting and waiting... not knowing if you're alive or dead or if I'll see you again?" she said darkly. "That's really better to you?"

"Yes," he answered. "Because I'll know you're safe. And besides, I heard about your little stunt... running away? Your family is probably worried sick over you. And I know you miss them." She looked up at him with sad eyes, but nodded, unable to deny it.

"And when will I see you again?" she asked.

"It won't be long, I promise," he said softly, placing his hand on her cheek. "As soon as it's done, I'm coming back for you. I'll come for you and I'll grab on to you, and I swear I'll never let go for anything."

"How can you be sure?" she asked. He sighed then, knowing it was as good of a promise as he'd ever have, he reached into his robes and pulled out the bracelet. Jin gasped at its beauty and he took her wrist, sliding it on for her.

"When I return for you," he said softly. "It'll be to take you as my bride." She looked him in the eye, her heart pounding. "If you'll have me," he added in a whisper. She smiled and tears fell down her face.

"Of course I will!" she cried and he threw his arms around her, hugging her close and kissing the top of her head. She pulled away to look up at him and he kissed her lips with such fury and passion, and Jin discovered in the frenzy of her heart pounding up a storm, it was beating in the same rhythm as his. She pulled back, smiling brightly, a few tears lingering on her face and he brushed them away for her.

"I promise you," he said softly. "Not even death will keep me from you." She nodded and smiled. "Now come on," he said. "They'll start the banquet without us if we don't hurry." She laughed, despite herself, and locked arms with him, heading quickly into the dining hall with him. Before they entered he quickly warned her that for now they should keep the engagement a secret while he still had enemies so near him. If word reached the wrong person and they tracked her down... he didn't want that for her. She agreed reluctantly, secretly eager to tell Katara and the other girls, but he promised her that it would not have to remain secret for too long. And so, respecting his wish, she made sure the bracelet remained hidden under her sleeve, but she didn't take it off, not for the world.  
----

That night, they left on a warship, Aang agreeing to aid Zuko in Omashu, and they managed to board Appa on the ship as well, a feat that amazed almost everyone on board. When they arrived, to avoid anyone knowing that Jin had arrived with a Fire Nation fleet, she agreed to ride on Appa and be left off not too far away from her home, but a safe distance so there would be practically no one to see them landing. Zuko wore a hooded cloak to keep himself from being recognized, and when they landed, he escorted Jin to her house, keeping the hood drawn and in place.

When they were near the door he stopped with her and she turned to face him. "This is it I guess," she said sadly. "Promise me you'll hurry back." He smiled sadly and nodded.

"I will as soon as I can," he whispered. She smiled and looked down.

"I told you... it's like we're always meant to be apart." He stroked her cheek lovingly and took her hand in his.

"Only for a little while longer," he said softly. He kissed her lips gently and sweetly one last time and she stepped away sadly, not wanting him to leave. "I love you," he whispered.

"Goodbye," she said, turning to leave.

"Bye..." As they parted they kept their hands together until they slowly, reluctantly, slid apart, and Jin, knowing she couldn't look back, hurried to her house, part of her wondering what the reaction would be from her family once they saw she was all right.

A shadow zipped over her head and she looked up to see the flying Bison pass over, and she waved at it, hoping her love could see her from up there -a part of her knew he could-. Turning sadly, but carrying hope in her heart, she reached for the door handle and opened it, stepping inside to face her family, whom she had missed so badly.  
----

Zuko watched as they flew over and smiled when he saw her wave. "Only for a little while, I promise," he whispered.

(A/N: This is the END! And yes, there's obviously going to be a sequel since I had more adventures planned out for the two, but if I kept it all in one fic it would be... the never ending fic. R&R, please! I luv y'all!)


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